Shloka 5

Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः

Devanagari script

मतड़ परम स्थानं वार्यमाणो5सकृन्मया । चिकीर्षस्येव तपसा सर्वथा न भविष्यसि

Transliteration

mataṅga paraṁ sthānaṁ vāryamāṇo 'sakṛn mayā | cikīrṣasyeva tapasā sarvathā na bhaviṣyasi ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Hỡi Mataṅga, dù ta đã nhiều lần ngăn cản, ngươi vẫn cứ khăng khăng muốn đạt trạng thái tối thượng ấy bằng khổ hạnh. Nếu ngươi cứ tiếp tục như vậy, ngươi sẽ chẳng còn là ngươi nữa—ngay cả sự tồn tại của ngươi cũng sẽ bị dập tắt.”

Word by Word

• {'mataṅga': 'Mataṅga (a person addressed by name)', 'param': 'supreme, highest', 'sthānam': 'state, station, abode, position', 'vāryamāṇaḥ': 'being restrained/forbidden, being dissuaded', 'asakṛt': 'again and again, repeatedly', 'mayā': 'by me', 'cikīrṣasi': 'you wish to do/undertake

• you intend', 'iva': 'as if, as though (emphatic/illustrative particle)', 'tapasā': 'by austerity, through ascetic practice', 'sarvathā': 'in every way, entirely', 'na bhaviṣyasi': 'you will not be

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mataṅga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that spiritual ambition pursued stubbornly, without heed to wise restraint, can become self-destructive; even the quest for a “supreme state” must be aligned with proper discernment and dharma, not mere insistence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses Mataṅga directly, saying he has repeatedly tried to dissuade him from seeking an exalted spiritual station through severe austerities, and cautions that persisting in this course will lead to the loss of his very existence/condition.