Shloka 49

Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā

Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative

Devanagari script

अभ्युत्थानाभिवादाभ्यां सम्प्रदानेन केनचित्‌ । प्रतिपुष्पफलाघाती तीक्ष्णतुण्ड इव द्विज:

Transliteration

abhyutthānābhivādābhyāṃ sampradānena kenacit | pratipuṣpaphalāghātī tīkṣṇatuṇḍa iva dvijaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: Bằng cách đứng dậy nghênh đón, cúi chào cung kính và dâng một món quà đặc biệt, trước hết hãy khiến kẻ thù rơi vào vòng ảnh hưởng của mình. Rồi sau đó, như loài chim mỏ sắc mổ vào từng bông hoa, từng trái quả trên cây, hãy công kích cả nguồn lực lẫn mục tiêu của hắn—từng bước làm tổn hại cả phương tiện lẫn kết cuộc.

Word by Word

• अभ्युत्थान: by rising up (to receive)
• अभ्युत्थान: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभ्युत्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• अभिवाद: by salutation/greeting
• अभिवाद: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिवाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• आभ्याम्: by both (of these two)
• आभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इदम्/तद्-प्रत्यय (द्विवचन-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Instrumental/Dative dual ending used with the two preceding nouns

• सम्प्रदानेन: by giving/presenting (a gift)
• सम्प्रदानेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• केनचित्: by something (some gift) / by some means
• केनचित्: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular, with enclitic -चित् = 'some/any'

• प्रतिपुष्पफलाघाती: striking at each flower and fruit
• प्रतिपुष्पफलाघाती: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिपुष्पफलाघातिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तीक्ष्णतुण्डः: one having a sharp beak
• तीक्ष्णतुण्डः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्णतुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव
• Form: comparative particle

• द्विजः: a bird (lit. twice-born)
• द्विजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• enemy (śatru, implied)
• bird (dvija)
• tree (implied by flowers and fruits)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches a rāja-nīti tactic: first disarm an adversary through courtesy, respect, and gifts to gain leverage; then weaken him by targeting both his ‘means’ (resources, supports) and ‘ends’ (goals, outcomes) in a thorough, step-by-step manner.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and policy, Bhishma is advising the listener on how a ruler should deal with hostile parties—beginning with diplomatic gestures and then proceeding, when necessary, to calculated measures that undermine the opponent’s capacity and objectives.