Shloka 14

Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)

Devanagari script

वाचा च वधबन्‍न्धैर्वा कक्‍्लेशैर्वा विविधैस्तथा

Transliteration

vācā ca vadhabandhair vā kakleśair vā vividhaiḥ tathā

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Dù bằng lời lẽ cay nghiệt, hay bằng xiềng xích và lời đe dọa giết chóc, hay bằng đủ thứ khổ hình và hành hạ—cũng chớ áp bức người khác.”

Word by Word

• वाचा: by speech/with words
• वाचा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

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

• वधबन्धैः: by killing and binding (i.e., by acts of slaying/imprisonment)
• वधबन्धैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वधबन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• क्लेशैः: by afflictions/torments
• क्लेशैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• विविधैः: by various (kinds of)
• विविधैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights forms of harm—verbal cruelty, coercion through bondage or threat of death, and other kinds of suffering—implying that dharma requires restraint and compassion, avoiding oppression in word and deed.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing on dharma and proper conduct. Here he enumerates ways people may be injured—through speech, coercive restraint, or varied torments—within a broader ethical admonition against causing suffering.