Shloka 168

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

भक्ष्यार्थ हवबद्धस्त्वं स मुक्त: पीडित: क्षुधा

Transliteration

bhakṣyārtha-havabaddhas tvaṃ sa muktaḥ pīḍitaḥ kṣudhā

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—“خوراک کی لالچ نے تمہیں باندھ دیا تھا؛ اور رہائی کے بعد بھی تم بھوک کی اذیت میں مبتلا رہے۔”

Word by Word

• भक्ष्यार्थ: one whose purpose is food; for the sake of eating
• भक्ष्यार्थ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ष्य + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हवबद्धः: bound for (as) an oblation; tied up for sacrifice
• हवबद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हव + बद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he; that (person)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मुक्तः: released; freed
• मुक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुच् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पीडितः: afflicted; tormented
• पीडितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीड् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षुधा: by hunger
• क्षुधा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुध्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Desire can bind a person more powerfully than external chains: one may be physically freed, yet the inner compulsion (here, hunger/craving) continues to cause suffering. The remedy implied is restraint and mastery over appetites.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a ‘you’ (in an illustrative or admonitory context) describing a sequence: being trapped due to the lure of food, then being released, yet still remaining distressed by hunger—highlighting how craving persists beyond circumstances.