Shloka 21

Adhyāya 59: On Giving to the Asker and Supporting the Non-asking (याचक-अयाचक-दाने धर्मः)

Devanagari script

यथोक्तमृषिणा चापि तदा तदभवन्नूप । जन्म रामस्य च मुनेर्विश्वामित्रस्य चैव हि

Transliteration

yathoktam ṛṣiṇā cāpi tadā tad abhavan nṛpa | janma rāmasya ca muner viśvāmitrasya caiva hi, yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Tâu vua Yudhiṣṭhira, đúng như lời bậc hiền giả đã tiên báo, về sau mọi sự đã xảy ra như vậy: Rāma (Paraśurāma) sinh trong dòng Bhṛgu, còn hiền giả Viśvāmitra sinh trong dòng Kuśika. Lời của bậc thấy biết chân thật không sai, và trật tự của dharma mở bày qua những lần sinh ra đã được định sẵn.”

Word by Word

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• उक्तम्: said, spoken
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ऋषिणा: by the sage
• ऋषिणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

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

• अपि: also, even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• तदा: then, at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• तत्: that (thing/event)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: became, happened
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• जन्म: birth
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• रामस्य: of Rama (Parashurama)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

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

• मुनेः: of the sage
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• विश्वामित्रस्य: of Vishvamitra
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वामित्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

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

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

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

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhishthira
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Paraśurāma (Rāma of the Bhṛgus)
• Viśvāmitra
• Ṛṣi (the foreteller; contextually Cyavana in the prose gloss)
• Bhṛgu-kula (Bhṛgu lineage)
• Kuśika-vaṃśa (Kuśika lineage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the reliability of ṛṣi-vākya (a seer’s word) and the moral order (dharma) working through time: foretold outcomes manifest through the births of great figures whose lives shape ethical and social balance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma reminds Yudhiṣṭhira that a prior sage’s prediction was fulfilled: Paraśurāma arose in the Bhṛgu line and Viśvāmitra in the Kuśika line, linking present teachings to an earlier prophecy and to the significance of lineage in epic history.