Shloka 54

Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच पज्च दोषानू्‌ प्रभो देहे प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण: । मार्गज्ञा: कापिला: सांख्या: शृूणु तानरिसूदन,भीष्मजीने कहा--प्रभो! शत्रुसूदन! कपिल सांख्यमतके अनुसार चलनेवाले उत्तम मार्गोके ज्ञाता मनीषी पुरुष इस देहके भीतर पाँच दोष बतलाते हैं, उन्हें बताता हूँ, सुनो

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca pañca doṣān u prabho dehe pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ | mārgajñāḥ kāpilāḥ sāṅkhyāḥ śṛṇu tān arisūdana ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—اے پرَبھو، اے اَریسودن! راہ کے جاننے والے، کپل کے سانکھیہ مت کے پیرو دانا لوگ اس جسم کے اندر پانچ عیوب بتاتے ہیں۔ میں وہ بیان کرتا ہوں—سنو۔

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'pañca': 'five', 'doṣān': 'faults, defects, blemishes', 'u': 'indeed

• an emphatic particle', 'prabho': 'O lord

• O master', 'dehe': 'in the body', 'pravadanti': 'they declare

• they state', 'manīṣiṇaḥ': 'sages

• reflective wise men', 'mārgajñāḥ': 'knowers of the path (right means/way)', 'kāpilāḥ': 'followers of Kapila

• Kapila’s tradition', 'sāṅkhyāḥ': 'adherents of Sāṅkhya philosophy', 'śṛṇu': 'listen', 'tān': 'those (i.e., the five defects)', 'arisūdana': 'O slayer of enemies (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Kapila
• Sāṅkhya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma introduces a Sāṅkhya-based ethical-psychological analysis: the embodied condition has identifiable “defects” that obstruct right understanding and liberation. Recognizing these faults is presented as a prerequisite for disciplined living and inner freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he signals a transition into a doctrinal explanation drawn from Kapila’s Sāṅkhya, announcing that he will enumerate five defects found within the body and asking the king to listen.