Shloka 44

Devanagari script

तथा मे नारद: प्राह व्यासश्व॒ सुमहातपा: । नरनारायणावेतौ सम्भूतौ मनुजेष्विति

Transliteration

tathā me nāradaḥ prāha vyāsaś ca sumahātapāḥ | naranārāyaṇāv etau sambhūtau manuṣeṣv iti ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Devarṣi Nārada cũng đã bảo ta như vậy, và đại khổ hạnh Vyāsa cũng thế: ‘Hai vị này—Kṛṣṇa và Arjuna—thật chính là Nārāyaṇa và Nara, giáng sinh giữa loài người trong thân người.’”

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• मे: of me / to me (enclitic)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्राह: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आह् (अह्/ब्रू)
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular

• व्यासः: Vyāsa
• व्यासः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सुमहातपाः: of very great austerity
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमहातपस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरनारायणौ: Nara and Nārāyaṇa
• नरनारायणौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-नारायण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• एतौ: these two
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• सम्भूतौ: born/manifested
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-भू
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual, क्त (past passive participle)

• मनुजेषु: among humans / in mankind
• मनुजेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुज
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• इति: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Narada
• Vyasa
• Krishna
• Arjuna
• Nara
• Narayana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes a theological identification: Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are not merely heroic allies but the manifestation of the ancient divine pair Nārāyaṇa and Nara. Ethically, it frames their actions as aligned with dharma and supported by the testimony of authoritative sages (Nārada and Vyāsa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, while instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, cites what he previously heard from Nārada and Vyāsa: that Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are the incarnate Nārāyaṇa and Nara among humans, reinforcing their sacred status and the legitimacy of their dharmic mission.