Shloka 14

The Thirteen Inner Adversaries (Trayodaśa Doṣāḥ): Origins and Pacification

Devanagari script

अथ निश्चित्य मनसा शाल्मलिवातकारितम्‌

Transliteration

atha niścitya manasā śālmalivātakāritam

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—“پھر اس نے دل میں پختہ ارادہ کر کے شالمَلی درخت کی ہوا سے پیدا ہونے والی تحریک کے مطابق قدم اٹھایا—یعنی اس اچانک اور زور دار جھونکے نے جو راہ سجھائی، اسی کو اس نے اختیار کیا۔”

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• निश्चित्य: having ascertained/decided
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि√चि
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), parasmaipada (usage as indeclinable gerund)

• मनसा: with the mind
• मनसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: neuter, instrumental, singular

• शाल्मलिवातकारितम्: made/caused by the śālmali-wind
• शाल्मलिवातकारितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाल्मलि-वात-कारित
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• śālmali (tree)
• vāta (wind)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical importance of inner determination: after reflecting, one should act from a settled mind rather than from mere impulse, even when external forces strongly provoke a reaction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a moment where a character, influenced by an event likened to (or caused by) a gust associated with a śālmali tree, first forms a firm mental decision and then proceeds accordingly—marking a transition from stimulus to deliberate resolve.