Shloka 33

Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma

Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच निर्वेदाद देवतानां च प्रसादात्‌ स द्विजोत्तम: | वन॑ प्रविश्य सुमहत्‌ तप आरब्धवांस्तदा,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन! वैराग्य और देवताओंके कृपाप्रसादसे वनमें जाकर उस श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणने उस समय बड़ी भारी तपस्या आरम्भ की

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca nirvedād devatānāṃ ca prasādāt sa dvijottamaḥ | vanaṃ praviśya sumahat tapa ārabdhavāṃs tadā ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—اے راجن! ویراغ اور دیوتاؤں کی کرپا-پرساد سے مدد پا کر وہ برتر برہمن جنگل میں داخل ہوا اور اسی وقت نہایت عظیم تپسیا (ریاضت) شروع کی۔

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

निर्वेदात्from dispassion / due to renunciation

देवतानाम्of the gods

चand

प्रसादात्from grace / by favor

सःhe

द्विजोत्तमःthe best of Brahmins

वनम्forest

प्रविश्यhaving entered

सुमहत्very great

तपःausterity, penance

आरब्धवान्having begun / began

तदाthen, at that time

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

the King (Yudhiṣṭhira, implied by context)

devatāḥ (the gods)

dvijottamaḥ (a foremost Brahmin, unnamed here)

vana (forest)

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?

True spiritual effort arises from nirveda (dispassion) and is strengthened by devatā-prasāda (divine favor). The verse presents tapas as an ethical-spiritual response to worldly dissatisfaction, redirecting life toward disciplined self-restraint and higher aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma tells the king that an eminent Brahmin, having developed dispassion and received the gods’ favor, went into the forest and began intense austerities, marking a decisive turn from worldly life to ascetic practice.