Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कथं गोहरणे हाक्तो नैतच्छर्म तथा हितम्‌ । याच्यमानो हि भीष्मेण संवत्सरगते5ध्वनि

Transliteration

kathaṃ goharaṇe hākto naitaccharma tathā hitam | yācyamāno hi bhīṣmeṇa saṃvatsaragato 'dhvani ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Arjuna: “Paano siya naudyukan sa usapin ng pagnanakaw ng mga baka? Ang ganyang landas ay hindi tunay na kanlungan ni kapakinabangan. Sapagkat kahit siya’y pinakiusapan ni Bhīṣma, siya’y nakalarga na sa daan para sa isang buong taon (ng pagkatapon).”

Word by Word

कथम्how?

गोहरणेin the cattle-seizure (raid for cows)

हाक्तःcalled/so-called (as read: hāktaḥ)

नnot

एतत्this

शर्मcomfort; welfare; peace

तथाthus; in that way

हितम्beneficial; good

याच्यमानःbeing requested/entreated

हिindeed; for

भीष्मेणby Bhīṣma

संवत्सरगतेwhen a year had passed; in the year-gone (time)

अध्वनिon the journey; on the road

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Bhīṣma

cattle (go)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Arjuna frames cattle-raiding as ethically suspect and strategically unwholesome: it is neither ‘śarma’ (a true refuge/peace) nor ‘hita’ (real benefit). Even respected elders like Bhīṣma urging restraint cannot justify actions that undermine dharma and worsen conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna comments on a disputed episode involving goharaṇa (cattle-raiding) and notes that Bhīṣma was entreating someone to desist or act differently, yet the person had already set out on a journey associated with a year-long course (understood in context as exile/long-term consequence), highlighting the futility of late counsel and the moral cost of the act.