Shloka 20

Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti

Devanagari script

त्वां हि राज्ये स्थितं स्फीते समग्राड्रमरोगिणम्‌ । स्त्रीसहस्रै: परिवृतं पश्यामीवोर्ध्वरेतसम्‌

Transliteration

tvāṃ hi rājye sthitaṃ sphīte samagrāḍramarogiṇam | strīsahasraiḥ parivṛtaṃ paśyāmīvōrdhvaretasam ||

Translation

وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا—میں آپ کو ایک شاداب و خوشحال سلطنت میں قائم، کامل اعضاء کے ساتھ بےمرض، ہزاروں عورتوں کے درمیان گھرا ہوا دیکھتا ہوں؛ پھر بھی میں آپ کو ‘اُردھوریتس’—یعنی اَکھنڈ برہماچریہ میں ثابت قدم—ہی پاتا ہوں۔

Word by Word

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• राज्ये: in the kingdom/sovereignty
• राज्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• स्थितम्: situated/established
• Type: Participle
• Root: स्था
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Parasmaipada (passive sense), क्त (past passive participle)

• स्फीते: prosperous/abundant
• स्फीते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्फीत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• समग्र: entire/complete
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समग्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अद्रम्: limb/body-part (reading-dependent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अद्र (अङ्ग/अद्र as read in this pāṭha)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अमरोगिणम्: free from disease/healthy
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमरोगिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• स्त्री: women
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (as prior member in compound), —

• सहस्रैः: by thousands (a thousand)
• सहस्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun/Number
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• परिवृतम्: surrounded
• Type: Participle
• Root: वृत् (वृ)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, परि, क्त (past passive participle)

• पश्यामि: I see
• पश्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्
• Form: Present, Indicative, 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसम्: one whose semen is restrained/upward (continent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्वरेतस्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• a king/royal addressee (unnamed in this verse)
• kingdom (rājya)
• thousands of women (strīsahasra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True dharma is shown as inner mastery: even with health, wealth, sovereignty, and constant access to pleasure, a person can remain disciplined and restrained (ūrdhvaretas), demonstrating that virtue depends on self-governance rather than external conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a royal figure, describing his prosperous rule and the presence of many women around him, yet praising (or marveling at) his continued celibate-like restraint—setting up a discussion on ethical conduct and self-control within worldly life.