Shloka 36

पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient

Devanagari script

महारथश्न राजन्य एष्टव्य: शत्रुतापन: । सबको यह इच्छा करनी चाहिये कि राष्ट्रमें ब्रह्मतेजसे सम्पन्न पवित्र ब्राह्मण उत्पन्न हो और शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले महारथी क्षत्रियकी उत्पत्ति हो

Transliteration

mahārathaś ca rājan ya eṣṭavyaḥ śatrutāpanaḥ | sarveṣāṃ eṣā icchā kartavyā yadrāṣṭre brahmatejasā sampannaḥ pavitraḥ brāhmaṇaḥ prajāyeta, śatrūṇāṃ santāpadātā mahārathī kṣatriyaś ca prajāyeta ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—اے راجن! دشمنوں کو تپانے والا مہارَتھی کشتریہ بھی مطلوب ہے۔ سب کو یہی آرزو رکھنی چاہیے کہ مملکت میں برہمتَیج سے بہرہ مند پاکیزہ برہمن پیدا ہو، اور ساتھ ہی دشمنوں کو رنج پہنچانے والا زورآور مہارَتھی کشتریہ بھی جنم لے۔

Word by Word

महारथःa great chariot-warrior

राजन्यःa Kshatriya (royal-class man)

एष्टव्यःto be desired / should be sought

शत्रुतापनःtormenter of enemies

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Rājan (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)

Brāhmaṇa

Kṣatriya

Rāṣṭra (the realm/kingdom)

Śatru (enemies)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A well-ordered realm depends on complementary strengths: spiritual purity and authority embodied by a learned, radiant Brāhmaṇa, and protective power embodied by a formidable Kṣatriya capable of restraining and defeating enemies. The verse frames this as a legitimate aspiration for the welfare and security of the polity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma and governance. Here he emphasizes what kinds of people a kingdom should hope to produce—pure, spiritually potent Brahmins and powerful warrior-protectors—so that the realm remains both righteous and secure.