Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सा तस्मै विधिवत्‌ पूजां चक्रे धर्मपरायणा । स्वागतेनागतं कृत्वा कि करोमीति चाब्रवीत्‌

Transliteration

sā tasmai vidhivat pūjāṃ cakre dharmaparāyaṇā | svāgatena āgataṃ kṛtvā kiṃ karomīti cābravīt ||

Translation

Nàng, người một lòng vì dharma, đã làm lễ cúng tiếp đãi ông đúng nghi thức. Sau khi đón tiếp vị khách theo phép hiếu khách, nàng thưa: “Bậc brāhmaṇa đáng kính, xin hãy truyền dạy—thiếp phải phụng sự ngài điều chi?”

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Dative, Singular

• विधिवत्: according to rule; duly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत्

• पूजाम्: worship; honoring
• पूजाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूजा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• चक्रे: did; performed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

• धर्मपरायणा: devoted to dharma
• धर्मपरायणा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मपरायण
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• स्वागतेन: with welcome; by welcoming
• स्वागतेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वागत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• आगतम्: the arrived one; the guest who came
• आगतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आगत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having done; having made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Absolutive (ktvā)

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• करोमि: do I do; shall I do
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present (Laṭ), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• इति: thus; saying
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

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

• अब्रवीत्: said; spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bhīṣma (speaker)
• a dharma-devoted woman (unnamed in this verse)
• brāhmaṇa (guest)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights atithi-dharma: a righteous person honors a guest properly (vidhivat pūjā) and offers service with humility, treating the guest—especially a brāhmaṇa—as worthy of reverence and care.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s narration, a dharma-minded woman receives an arriving brāhmaṇa, performs the customary worship and welcome, and then asks what she should do to serve him.