Shloka 29

नारायणीयमाख्यानम् (Nārāyaṇīyam Ākhyānam) — Nārada’s Return and Hymnic Consolidation

Devanagari script

आसाद्य तमृषिं सर्वा: सम्भ्रान्ता गतचेतस: । जले निलिल्यिरे काश्रनित्‌ काश्रनिद्‌ गुल्मान्‌ प्रपेदिरे

Transliteration

āsādya tam ṛṣiṁ sarvāḥ sambhrāntā gata-cetasaḥ | jale nililyire kāścid kāścid gulmān prapedire ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Khi đến gần vị hiền triết ấy, tất cả các Apsarā—bối rối, tâm trí rối loạn—đều hoảng sợ: kẻ thì lao xuống nước, người thì chạy trốn, ẩn mình trong bụi rậm. Cảnh ấy cho thấy khi tâm bị khuấy động và mất tự chủ, chúng sinh dễ hành động bột phát để tự bảo vệ, dù đang ở trước uy lực của bậc đạo hạnh.

Word by Word

आसाद्यhaving approached / reaching

तम्him / that (one)

ऋषिम्sage

सर्वाःall (of them)

सम्भ्रान्ताःagitated / bewildered

गतचेतसःwhose minds were gone (out of their senses)

जलेin water

निलिल्यिरेthey hid / they plunged (themselves)

काश्रनित्Kāśranit (a kind of thicket/plant; uncertain reading)

काश्रनित्Kāśranit (repeated; uncertain reading)

गुल्मान्thickets / bushes

प्रपेदिरेthey resorted to / they entered / they reached

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

a rishi (sage)

water (jala)

thickets/bushes (gulma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical importance of steadiness of mind (self-control): when people become sambhrānta (agitated) and gata-cetasaḥ (mentally unmoored), they act rashly—seeking immediate safety rather than responding with discernment, even near a sage who represents restraint and higher insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group reaches a rishi; upon encountering him, they are seized by panic and confusion. Some hide by plunging into water, while others run into nearby thickets for cover.