Shloka 36

गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow

Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode

Devanagari script

यथोपदेशं परिकीर्तितासु नर: प्रजायेत विचार्य बुद्धिमान । निहीनयोनिर्हि सुतो&5वसादयेत्‌ तितीर्षमाणं हि यथोपलो जले

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | yathopadeśaṃ parikīrtitāsu naraḥ prajāyeta vicārya buddhimān | nihīna-yonir hi suto ’vasādayet titīrṣamāṇaṃ hi yathopalo jale, rājan |

Translation

Wika ni Bhīṣma: O Hari, ang taong marunong ay dapat magkaanak lamang matapos ang masusing pagninilay, ayon sa turo ng mga pantas, at kasama ang mga babae mula sa mga itinakdang uri. Sapagkat ang anak na isinilang mula sa mababang sinapupunan ay hihila pababa sa amang nagnanais tumawid sa dagat ng saṃsāra—gaya ng batong nasa tubig na lumulunod sa taong nagsisikap tumawid.

Word by Word

• {'yathā-upadeśam': 'according to instruction

• as taught', 'parikīrtitāsu': 'in those that have been described/enumerated (here: the specified women/classes)', 'naraḥ': 'a man', 'prajāyeta': 'should beget offspring

• should procreate', 'vicārya': 'having considered

• after deliberation', 'buddhimān': 'wise

• discerning', 'nihīna-yoniḥ': 'of inferior birth/womb

• low origin', 'sutaḥ': 'son', 'avasādayet': 'would cause to sink

• would ruin', 'titīrṣamāṇam': 'one wishing to cross over (especially the ocean of worldly existence)', 'upalaḥ': 'stone

• rock', 'jale': 'in water', 'rājan': 'O king'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (Yudhishthira, implied addressee)
• son (suta)
• stone (upala)
• water (jala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that one should be deliberate and dharmic about begetting children, because an unworthy or improperly born son can become a heavy moral and practical burden, obstructing the father’s spiritual progress—like a stone that makes a swimmer sink.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing the king on dharma. Here he uses a vivid simile—stone in water—to warn about the consequences of producing offspring without proper consideration and adherence to the prescribed norms taught by sages.