Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 2

कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः

Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas

भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन! धर्मके विषयमें जाजलिके साथ तुलाधार वैश्यकी जो बातें हुई थीं, उसी प्राचीन इतिहासका दिद्वान्‌ पुरुष यहाँ उदाहरण दिया करते हैं ।। वने वनचर: कश्रिज्जाजलिननमम वै द्विज: । सागरोददेशमागम्य तपस्तेपे महातपा:

bhīṣma uvāca—rājan! dharmaviṣaye jājalikena saha tulādhāra-vaiśyasya yā bātāḥ (kathāḥ) abhavan, tam eva prācīnam itihāsaṃ vidvān puruṣā iha udāharaṇatvena vadanti. vane vanacaraḥ kaścid jājalir nāma vai dvijaḥ; sāgaroddeśam āgamya tapas tepe mahātapāḥ.

بھیشم نے کہا—اے راجن! دھرم کے باب میں جاجلی کے ساتھ ویشیہ تُلادھار کی جو گفتگو ہوئی تھی، اسی قدیم حکایت کو اہلِ علم یہاں مثال کے طور پر بیان کرتے ہیں۔ اس قصے میں جاجلی نام کا ایک دْوِج جنگل میں رہنے والا تھا۔ وہ سمندر کے علاقے میں جا پہنچا اور ایک بڑے تپسوی کی طرح سخت تپسیا کرنے لگا۔

vanein the forest
vane:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootvana
FormNeuter, Locative, Singular
vanacaraḥa forest-dweller
vanacaraḥ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootvana-cara
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
kaścitsomeone, a certain
kaścit:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootkaścit
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
jājaliḥJājali (proper name)
jājaliḥ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootjājali
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
nāmaby name, named
nāma:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootnāman
vaiindeed
vai:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootvai
dvijaḥa Brahmin (twice-born)
dvijaḥ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootdvija
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
sāgara-uddeśamthe seashore/region of the ocean
sāgara-uddeśam:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootsāgara-uddeśa
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
āgamyahaving come (to)
āgamya:
TypeVerb
Rootā√gam
FormAbsolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral)
tapaḥausterity, penance
tapaḥ:
Karma
TypeNoun
Roottapas
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
tepeperformed (austerity)
tepe:
TypeVerb
Root√tap
FormPerfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada
mahātapāḥone of great austerity
mahātapāḥ:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootmahā-tapas
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhishma (Bhīṣma)
K
King (Rājan—Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
J
Jajali (Jājali)
T
Tuladhara (Tulādhāra)
V
Vaiśya (merchant class)
S
Seashore region (Sāgaroddeśa)
F
Forest (Vana)

Educational Q&A

Bhishma frames Dharma through an instructive precedent: the ancient dialogue between an ascetic Brahmin (Jajali) and a householder-merchant (Tuladhara). The verse signals that ethical insight is to be sought through exemplary narratives and that Dharma can be illuminated across different social roles.

Bhishma introduces an old story as an illustration. He begins by describing Jajali: a Brahmin living in the forest who travels to the coastal region and undertakes intense austerities, setting the stage for his later encounter and discussion with the merchant Tuladhara.