Shloka 8

Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna

The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणोंकी प्रशंशाविषयक आठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

anenaivodāharantīmam itihāsaṁ purātanam | śṛgālasya ca saṁvādaṁ vānarasya ca bhārata || bhārata! asmin viṣaye vijñāḥ puruṣāḥ śṛgāla-vānara-saṁvāda-rūpaṁ prācīnam itihāsam udāharanti |

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Cũng chính trong mối liên hệ này, những bậc học giả dẫn lại một chuyện xưa làm ví dụ—cuộc đối thoại giữa chó rừng và khỉ, hỡi Bharata. Để minh họa cho vấn đề ấy, người sáng suốt thường kể lại cổ sử này dưới hình thức cuộc trò chuyện của hai loài.”

Word by Word

• {'anenaiva (anena + eva)': 'by this very (means)

• precisely in this connection', 'udāharanti': 'they cite

• they adduce as an example', 'imam': 'this', 'itihāsam': 'traditional narrative

• ancient tale (used as an instructive example)', 'purātanam / prācīnam': 'ancient

• old', 'śṛgāla': 'jackal', 'vānara': 'monkey', 'saṁvāda': 'dialogue

• conversation', 'bhārata': 'O Bharata (address to Yudhiṣṭhira / descendant of Bharata)', 'asmin viṣaye': 'in this matter

• on this topic', 'vijñāḥ puruṣāḥ': 'learned/discerning persons', 'rūpam': 'in the form of

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Bharata (Yudhishthira addressed as Bharata)
• Jackal (Śṛgāla)
• Monkey (Vānara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That ethical instruction (dharma) is often clarified through illustrative ancient tales (itihāsa), and that learned people support a point by citing a fitting example—in this case, the jackal–monkey dialogue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma transitions into an exemplifying story: he announces that, regarding the topic under discussion, the wise traditionally recount an old tale presented as a conversation between a jackal and a monkey.