Shloka 29

Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti

Devanagari script

त्वं हि सर्वगुणै राजन्‌ देवानप्यतिरिच्यसे । तपसा हि भवान्‌ शक्तः स्रष्टें लोकां क्षराचरान्‌

Transliteration

tvaṁ hi sarvaguṇai rājann devān apy atiricyase | tapasā hi bhavān śaktaḥ sraṣṭuṁ lokān carācarān ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana nói: “Tâu Đại vương, nhờ trọn vẹn mọi đức hạnh, ngài vượt cả chư thiên; và nhờ uy lực của khổ hạnh (tapas), ngài có thể làm phát sinh các thế giới—cả hữu động lẫn vô động. Đó chính là sức mạnh đạo đức của tự chế và kỷ luật.”

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Prathama, Eka

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• सर्वगुणैः: by (all) virtues/qualities
• सर्वगुणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वगुण
• Form: Puṃ, Tritiya, Bahu

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Puṃ, Sambodhana, Eka

• देवान्: the gods
• देवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Puṃ, Dvitīya, Bahu

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अतिरिच्यसे: you surpass/excel
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति + रिच्
• Form: Lat (Vartamāna), Ātmanepada, Madhyama, Eka

• तपसा: by austerity/penance
• तपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Napुं, Tritiya, Eka

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• भवान्: your honor/you
• भवान्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Puṃ, Prathama, Eka

• शक्तः: able/capable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्त
• Form: Puṃ, Prathama, Eka

• स्रष्टुम्: to create
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Tumun (infinitive)

• लोकान्: worlds
• लोकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Puṃ, Dvitīya, Bahu

• चराचरान्: moving and unmoving (beings)
• चराचरान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चराचर
• Form: Puṃ, Dvitīya, Bahu

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• rājan (the king, unnamed here)
• devas (gods)
• lokas (worlds/realms)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates tapas (disciplined austerity) and guṇa (virtue) as real sources of authority: moral and spiritual excellence can surpass even divine status, implying that ethical self-mastery empowers a ruler more than mere birth or force.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vaiśaṃpāyana praises a king addressed directly, emphasizing that his virtues and ascetic discipline are so great that he could metaphorically (or by yogic power) create the animate and inanimate worlds—an exhortation to uphold dharma through self-control.