Shloka 40

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

Devanagari script

जटाचीराजिनधर: स्वाध्यायपरम: शुचि: । विनीतो नियताहारो ब्रह्माण्यो वेदपारग:

Transliteration

jaṭācīrājinadharaḥ svādhyāyaparamaḥ śuciḥ | vinīto niyatāhāro brahmāṇyo vedapāragaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Ông để tóc bện thành búi, mặc áo vỏ cây và khoác da nai. Chuyên tâm hơn hết vào việc học kinh điển, thanh tịnh trong hạnh kiểm, khiêm cung và tiết chế trong ăn uống, ông kính trọng các Bà-la-môn và đã thông suốt các bộ Veda.”

Word by Word

• जटा-चीर-अजिन-धरः: wearing matted hair, bark-cloth and deer-skin
• जटा-चीर-अजिन-धरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटा + चीर + अजिन + धर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्वाध्याय-परमः: devoted chiefly to self-study (Vedic recitation)
• स्वाध्याय-परमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वाध्याय + परम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शुचिः: pure, clean
• शुचिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विनीतः: well-disciplined, humble
• विनीतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विनीत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नियत-आहारः: having regulated food/diet
• नियत-आहारः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नियत + आहार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्रह्मण्यः: devoted to Brahmins / favorable to Brahmanical dharma
• ब्रह्मण्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मण्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वेद-पारगः: one who has gone to the far shore of the Vedas; master of the Vedas
• वेद-पारगः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद + पारग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• a Brahmin (brāhmaṇa)
• matted locks (jaṭā)
• bark-garment (cīra)
• deer-skin (ajina)
• the Vedas (vedāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ethical portrait of an exemplary Brahmin/ascetic: purity, humility, regulated living, reverence for dharma and Brahmins, and foremost dedication to svādhyāya (Vedic study). External marks (jaṭā, bark-cloth, deer-skin) are paired with inner discipline and learning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes the arrival/character of a Brahmin ascetic, emphasizing his appearance and virtues—his austere dress, commitment to sacred recitation and study, disciplined diet, and mastery of the Vedas—setting up the moral authority of the figure within the surrounding discourse.