Shloka 5

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 178 — Royal Contestants Assemble; Cosmic Witnesses; The Bow Remains Unstrung

Devanagari script

स तात इति विप्रर्षिवसिष्ठं प्रत्यभाषत । मातु: समक्ष कौन्तेय अदृश्यन्त्या: परंतप,परंतप कुन्तीकुमार! एक दिन ब्रह्मर्षि पराशरने अपनी माता अदृश्यन्तीके सामने ही वसिष्ठजीको “तात” कहकर पुकारा

Transliteration

sa tāta iti viprarṣi-vasiṣṭhaṃ pratyabhāṣata | mātuḥ samakṣaṃ kaunteya adṛśyantyāḥ paraṃtapa ||

Translation

Wika ng Gandharva: “O anak ni Kuntī, tagasunog ng mga kaaway! Sa harap mismo ng kaniyang ina na si Adṛśyantī, tinawag ng brahmarṣi na si Parāśara ang rishi na si Vasiṣṭha na ‘tāta’—‘mahal na ama’.”

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तात: O father / dear sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• इति: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• विप्रर्षि-वसिष्ठम्: Vasiṣṭha, the brahmarṣi (sage)
• विप्रर्षि-वसिष्ठम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रर्षि-वसिष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रत्यभाषत: addressed / spoke to
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-भाष्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

गन्धर्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

• गन्धर्व (Gandharva, speaker)
• वसिष्ठ (Vasiṣṭha)
• पराशर (Parāśara)
• अदृश्यन्ती (Adṛśyantī)
• कौन्तेय (Kaunteya—son of Kuntī, addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic conduct through respectful speech: honoring venerable elders and spiritual authorities openly, using appropriate forms of address, reinforces humility and the continuity of sacred tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Gandharva narrates to a Kaunteya (son of Kuntī) that the sage Parāśara, in the presence of his mother Adṛśyantī, addressed the sage Vasiṣṭha as “tāta” (“dear father”), indicating deep reverence and acknowledgment of Vasiṣṭha’s senior spiritual status.