Shloka 198

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

शृणुयाच्चैव या नारी तद्धक्ता ब्रह्मचारिणी । पितृपक्षे भर्त॒पक्षे पूज्या भवति देववत्‌

Transliteration

śṛṇuyāccaiva yā nārī tadbhaktā brahmacāriṇī | pitṛpakṣe bhartṛpakṣe pūjyā bhavati devavat ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Người phụ nữ nào lắng nghe bài thánh ca này, một lòng sùng kính Ngài và giữ hạnh brahmacarya, thì trở nên đáng tôn kính như một vị thần—cả trong dòng họ bên cha lẫn trong dòng họ bên chồng.”

Word by Word

• शृणुयात्: should listen
• शृणुयात्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, optative, 3, singular, परस्मैपद

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• या: who (she)
• या: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• नारी: woman
• नारी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• तत्: that (hymn/this)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• भक्ता: devoted (female devotee)
• भक्ता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √भज्)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• ब्रह्मचारिणी: female celibate/one observing brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचारिणी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिणी (प्रातिपदिक; from ब्रह्मचारिन्)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• पितृपक्षे: in the paternal family/lineage
• पितृपक्षे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृपक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• भर्तृपक्षे: in the husband's family/lineage
• भर्तृपक्षे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृपक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• पूज्या: worthy of worship/honour
• पूज्या: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √पूज्)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• भवति: becomes/is
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्, present, 3, singular, परस्मैपद

• देवत्: like a deity
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: देवत् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक; indeclinable in -वत् sense)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Devotional listening (śravaṇa) combined with disciplined conduct (brahmacarya) elevates one’s moral and social-spiritual standing, making the practitioner worthy of reverence in both natal and marital families.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Śānti Parva, he describes the फल (result) of hearing a Śaṅkara-centered stotra with devotion and continence: the listener becomes honored like a deity in both paternal and husband’s lineages.