Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 11

उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः

Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting

Devanagari script

अनुपष्नन्‌ पितुर्दायं जड्घाश्रमफलोडध्वग: । स्वयमीहितलब्धं तु नाकामो दातुमहति

Transliteration

anupṛśnan pitur dāyaṃ jaṅghāśramaphalodvahaḥ | svayam īhitalabdhaṃ tu nākāmo dātum arhati ||

Translation

Wika ni Bhīṣma: Kung ang panganay na kapatid, nang hindi binabawasan o sinasaling ang pamana ng ama, ay magtungo sa ibang lupain at magkamal ng yaman sa pamamagitan lamang ng sariling pagod at lakas—sa sariling pagsisikap at paggawa—ang yamang iyon ay bunga ng kanyang personal na pagpupunyagi. Kaya kung wala siyang hangaring magbigay, hindi siya napipilitang magbahagi ng sariling kinita niyang yaman sa kanyang mga kapatid.

Word by Word

• अनुपश्नन्: not asking (for)
• अनुपश्नन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + पृच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पितुः: of the father
• पितुः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: पुं, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• दायम्: inheritance/share
• दायम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाय
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• जङ्घा-श्रम-फल-उदध्वगः: one who goes forth (as a traveler) for the fruit of leg-labour (i.e., by his own exertion)
• जङ्घा-श्रम-फल-उदध्वगः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदध्वग (प्रातिपदिक) ; जङ्घा, श्रम, फल
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम्

• ईहित-लब्धम्: obtained by one’s own effort
• ईहित-लब्धम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईहित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक), लब्ध (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अकामः: unwilling
• अकामः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकाम
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दातुम्: to give
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive)

• अर्हति: is obliged/ought
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• father (pituḥ)
• elder brother
• brothers
• paternal inheritance (dāya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse distinguishes ancestral inheritance from wealth earned by one’s own effort. If an elder brother earns money independently without harming the paternal estate, he is not dharmically compelled to share that self-acquired wealth with his brothers unless he chooses to.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially duties and norms concerning family and property), he addresses a practical case: an elder brother travels and earns through personal labor. Bhishma clarifies the ethical-legal status of such earnings as personal property rather than divisible patrimony.