Shloka 386

मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169

Devanagari script

अगमन्‌ बहवो मासा निधघ्नत: पक्षिणो बहून्‌ डाकुओंके सम्पर्कमें रहनेसे गौतम भी उनके ही समान पूरा डाकू बन गया। डाकुओंके गाँवमें सुखपूर्वक रहकर प्रतिदिन बहुत-से पक्षियोंका शिकार करते हुए उसके कई महीने बीत गये

Transliteration

agaman bahavo māsā nidhaghnataḥ pakṣiṇo bahūn; ḍākūnāṃ saṃparkeṇa sthitvā gautamo 'pi teṣām iva samagraḥ ḍākūḥ babhūva. ḍākū-grāme sukhena nivasan pratidinaṃ bahūn pakṣiṇaḥ mṛgayamāṇaḥ tasya bahavo māsā vyatītāḥ.

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Nhiều tháng đã trôi qua khi hắn cứ giết vô số chim chóc. Sống lâu trong bọn cướp, ngay cả Gautama cũng trở nên giống hệt họ—thành một tên cướp trọn vẹn. Ở yên ổn trong làng cướp, ngày ngày săn giết bao chim muông, hắn để mặc cho nhiều tháng ngày vụt qua. Câu chuyện nêu rõ: sự giao du lâu dài nhào nặn tính nết và hành vi; sự dễ dãi và thói quen có thể khiến bạo lực và adharma trở thành điều bình thường.

Word by Word

• अगमन्: went / passed
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (गच्छति)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), 3, Plural, परस्मैपद

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मासाः: months
• मासाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निधघ्नतः: of (him) killing / while killing
• निधघ्नतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन् (निघ्नति)
• Form: शतृ (Present active participle), Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• पक्षिणः: birds
• पक्षिणः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• बहून्: many
• बहून्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Gautama
• bandits (ḍākū)
• bandits' village (ḍākū-grāma)
• birds (pakṣiṇaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prolonged association (saṃparka/saṅga) strongly molds one’s nature: living among wrongdoers and enjoying their comforts can normalize adharma, leading even a previously different person to adopt violent and unethical habits.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma narrates that Gautama, staying in a bandits’ village, spends months hunting and killing many birds daily; through continued contact with the bandits he becomes like them—effectively turning into a robber himself.