Shloka 54

Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच पज्च दोषानू्‌ प्रभो देहे प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण: । मार्गज्ञा: कापिला: सांख्या: शृूणु तानरिसूदन

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca pañca doṣān u prabho dehe pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ | mārgajñāḥ kāpilāḥ sāṅkhyāḥ śṛṇu tān arisūdana ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Bạch chúa công, bậc diệt thù! Các bậc hiền triết—những người biết con đường chân chính và theo Sāṅkhya của Kapila—nói rằng trong thân này có năm điều khiếm khuyết. Hãy nghe ta trình bày.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'pañca': 'five', 'doṣān': 'faults, defects, blemishes', 'u': 'indeed

• an emphatic particle', 'prabho': 'O lord

• O master', 'dehe': 'in the body', 'pravadanti': 'they declare

• they state', 'manīṣiṇaḥ': 'sages

• reflective wise men', 'mārgajñāḥ': 'knowers of the path (right means/way)', 'kāpilāḥ': 'followers of Kapila

• Kapila’s tradition', 'sāṅkhyāḥ': 'adherents of Sāṅkhya philosophy', 'śṛṇu': 'listen', 'tān': 'those (i.e., the five defects)', 'arisūdana': 'O slayer of enemies (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Kapila
• Sāṅkhya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma introduces a Sāṅkhya-based ethical-psychological analysis: the embodied condition has identifiable “defects” that obstruct right understanding and liberation. Recognizing these faults is presented as a prerequisite for disciplined living and inner freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he signals a transition into a doctrinal explanation drawn from Kapila’s Sāṅkhya, announcing that he will enumerate five defects found within the body and asking the king to listen.