Shloka 166

Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā

Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants

Devanagari script

दिश: सम्प्राद्रवन्‌ राजन्‌ भयाज्जीवितकांक्षिण: । राजन! उस शरभसे भयभीत हो जंगलके सभी पशु अपनी जान बचानेके लिये डरके मारे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें भाग गये

Transliteration

diśaḥ samprādravan rājan bhayāj jīvitakāṅkṣiṇaḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Tâu Đại vương, vì sợ hãi và vì khát khao giữ mạng sống, muôn loài đã chạy tán loạn về mọi phía.” Câu này nhấn mạnh rằng nỗi sợ có thể làm chúng sinh rời khỏi trật tự quen thuộc của mình, và bản năng tự tồn thường lấn át sự vững vàng cùng khả năng phân định.

Word by Word

• दिशः: directions (all quarters)
• दिशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• सम्प्राद्रवन्: ran away, fled
• सम्प्राद्रवन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-√द्रु (द्रवति)
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Plural

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

• भयात्: from fear, out of fear
• भयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• जीवितकाङ्क्षिणः: desiring life, wishing to survive
• जीवितकाङ्क्षिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवित-काङ्क्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• King (rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fear destabilizes beings and drives them to disorderly flight; a ruler and a seeker of dharma should recognize fear’s power and cultivate steadiness so that decisions are not ruled by panic or mere survival-instinct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a scene where, out of terror, living creatures scatter and flee in every direction, emphasizing the intensity of the threat and the natural impulse to protect one’s life.