Shloka 4

Devanagari script

स कदाचिन्महातेजा जलवासो महीपते । चचार लोकान विप्रर्षि: प्रेक्षमाणो मनोजव:,राजन! फिर किसी समय समुद्रतटस्थ जलयुक्त प्रदेशमें निवास करनेवाले वे महातेजस्वी विप्रर्षि सम्पूर्ण लोकोंको देखनेके लिये मनके समान तीव्र गतिसे विचरण करने लगे

Transliteration

sa kadācin mahātejā jalavāso mahīpate | cacāra lokān viprarṣiḥ prekṣamāṇo manojavaḥ ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—اے راجا! ایک بار وہ مہاتجسوی برہمن رِشی، جو سمندر کے کنارے کے آب دار علاقے میں رہتا تھا، تمام جہانوں کو دیکھنے کی خواہش سے خیال کی سی تیزی کے ساتھ دنیاوں میں گردش کرنے لگا۔

Word by Word

सःhe

कदाचित्at some time, once

महातेजाःof great splendor

जलवासःdwelling in watery region / living by the waters

महीपतेO lord of the earth (king)

चचारwandered, roamed

लोकान्worlds, realms

विप्रर्षिःbrahmin-sage

प्रेक्षमाणःlooking at, observing

मनोजवःswift as the mind

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

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

viprarṣi (a brahmin seer; unnamed here)

lokāḥ (the worlds/realms)

jala-vāsa (watery/coastal dwelling region)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ideal of the sage as a seeker of comprehensive vision: moving beyond a fixed locale, he surveys the ‘worlds’ to understand reality directly. In the Śānti Parva’s ethical frame, such wide seeing supports dharma—right judgment grounded in experience, detachment, and insight rather than narrow interest.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma tells the king that an unnamed radiant brahmin-seer, who lived in a watery coastal region, at one time began to roam through various realms with mind-like speed, motivated by the desire to behold and examine the worlds.