Shloka 83

Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu

Gṛhastha-Vrata

Devanagari script

एषा हि तपसा स्वेन संयुक्ता ब्रह्म॒वादिनी । पावनार्थ च लोकस्य सरिच्छेष्ठा भविष्यति

Transliteration

eṣā hi tapasā svena saṁyuktā brahmavādinī | pāvanārthaṁ ca lokasya saricchreṣṭhā bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Nàng ấy được kết hợp với sức mạnh khổ hạnh của chính mình, là người biết và giảng nói về Phạm (Brahman). Vì sự thanh tẩy thế gian, nàng sẽ trở thành bậc tối thượng trong các dòng sông.”

Word by Word

• एषा: this (woman)
• एषा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• स्वेन: by her own
• स्वेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• संयुक्ता: endowed/connected
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-युज्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• ब्रह्मवादिनी: female expounder of Brahman/Veda-speaker
• ब्रह्मवादिनी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मवादिन्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पावनार्थम्: for the purpose of purification
• पावनार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावनार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• लोकस्य: of the world/people
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सरित्-श्रेष्ठा: the best of rivers
• सरित्-श्रेष्ठा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित्-श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भविष्यति: will become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Simple Future (लृट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• a brahmavādinī woman (unnamed in this pāda)
• the world (loka)
• a river (sarit)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Austerity (tapas) joined with spiritual insight and truthful sacred speech (brahmavāda) becomes a force of purification not only for the practitioner but for the wider world; such a person is likened to a great river that cleanses all who come into contact with it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing a woman characterized as a brahmavādinī, emphasizing her ascetic power and forecasting her role as a purifier of the world, metaphorically elevating her to the status of the foremost river.