Shloka 14

उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification

Devanagari script

निर्जितेनासहायेन हृतराज्येन भारत । अशोचता शत्रुमध्ये बुद्धिमास्थाय केवलाम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | nirjitena asahāyena hṛtarājyena bhārata | aśocatā śatrumadhye buddhim āsthāya kevalām naraśvara | asmin viṣaye ekaḥ prācīna itihāsaḥ kathyate; taṃ ekacittaḥ śṛṇu | bharatanandana! pūrvakāle vṛtrāsuraḥ parājitaḥ aiśvarya-bhraṣṭaḥ abhavat | tasya kaścid api sahāyaḥ na avaśiṣṭaḥ | devaiḥ tasya rājyaṃ hṛtam | tādṛśyāṃ daśāyām api saḥ asuraḥ yathā ceṣṭitavān, tasyaiva asyāṃ kathāyāṃ varṇanam | saḥ śatrūṇāṃ madhye api āsaktiśūnya-buddhim āśritya śokaṃ na karoti |

Translation

اے بھارت! شکست خوردہ، بےیارومددگار اور سلطنت سے محروم ہو کر بھی وہ غمگین نہ ہوا؛ دشمنوں کے بیچ رہتے ہوئے بھی اس نے محض پاکیزہ اور بےتعلّق فہم و بصیرت کا سہارا لیا۔

Word by Word

• निर्जितेन: by/with (one) defeated
• निर्जितेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्जित (√जि)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• असहायेन: without an ally/help
• असहायेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असहाय
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• हृतराज्येन: whose kingdom has been taken away
• हृतराज्येन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृत-राज्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अशोचता: did not grieve
• Type: Verb
• Root: अ-शोचत् (√शुच्)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

• शत्रु: of enemies
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मध्ये: in the midst
• मध्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मध्य
• Form: true

• बुद्धिम्: intelligence, understanding
• बुद्धिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• आस्थाय: having resorted to / adopting
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था (√स्था)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• केवलाम्: pure, exclusive (alone)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: केवला
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नर-ईश्वर: O lord of men (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (भीष्म)
• Bharata/Yudhiṣṭhira (भारत, नर-ईश्वर, भरतनन्दन)
• Vṛtrāsura (वृत्रासुर)
• Devas (देवाः)
• Kingdom/sovereignty (राज्य, ऐश्वर्य)
• Enemies (शत्रु)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when one is defeated, abandoned, and dispossessed, grief is not inevitable: by taking refuge in pure, unattached discernment (kevalā buddhi) and relinquishing clinging (āsakti), one can remain steady amid enemies and adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma introduces an ancient illustrative episode: Vṛtrāsura, after being defeated and stripped of his realm by the gods, stands among enemies without lamentation. The text sets up his conduct as a model for how to act when fortune and power collapse.