Shloka 8

आशा-कृशता उपाख्यानम्

The Episode on the Emaciation Caused by Hope

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच अत्र ते वर्तयिष्यामि युधिष्ठिर निबोध तत्‌ । इतिहासं सुमित्रस्य निर्वत्तमृषभस्य च

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | atra te vartayiṣyāmi yudhiṣṭhira nibodha tat | itihāsaṃ sumitrasya nirvṛttam ṛṣabhasya ca ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Tại đây, hỡi Yudhishthira, ta sẽ thuật lại cho con—hãy lắng nghe chăm chú—một chuyện xưa về vua Sumitra và hiền giả Rishabha, như đã diễn ra trong thời quá vãng.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'atra': 'here

• in this context', 'te': 'to you', 'vartayiṣyāmi': 'I will narrate

• I will relate', 'yudhiṣṭhira': 'O Yudhishthira', 'nibodha': 'understand

• listen and grasp', 'tat': 'that (matter/teaching)', 'itihāsam': 'traditional narrative

• historical/legendary account with moral import', 'sumitrasya': 'of Sumitra', 'nirvṛttam': 'that which occurred

• completed/previously happened', 'ṛṣabhasya': 'of Rishabha', 'ca': 'and'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• King Sumitra
• Sage Rishabha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma frames dharma-instruction through itihasa: ethical principles are best grasped when presented as a concrete past example involving a king and a sage, inviting attentive listening and reflection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma signals a transition into an illustrative story: he tells Yudhishthira that he will now narrate a prior episode concerning King Sumitra and the sage Rishabha, and urges him to listen carefully.