Shloka 139

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

आगममश्न पुराणानां महर्षीणां च सम्भव: । तीर्थवंशश्व॒ वंशश्व नक्षत्राणां युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

āgamam aśna purāṇānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sambhavaḥ | tīrthavaṁśaś ca vaṁśaś ca nakṣatrāṇāṁ yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Yudhiṣṭhira, truyền thống thẩm quyền của các Purāṇa, nguồn gốc của các đại hiền triết, các dòng tộc gắn với những thánh địa hành hương (tīrtha), cùng gia phả và trật tự của các chòm sao (nakṣatra)—tất thảy đều đã được trình bày.”

Word by Word

• आगमम्: tradition; scripture; authoritative teaching
• आगमम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अश्न: he eats/consumes
• अश्न: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश्
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुराणानाम्: of the Purāṇas
• पुराणानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• महर्षीणाम्: of the great seers
• महर्षीणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• सम्भवः: origin; coming into being
• सम्भवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्भव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तीर्थवंशः: the lineage/series of sacred fords (tīrthas)
• तीर्थवंशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थवंश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• वंशः: lineage; dynasty
• वंशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• नक्षत्राणाम्: of the constellations/lunar mansions
• नक्षत्राणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Purāṇas
• Maharṣis
• Tīrthas
• Nakṣatras

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma underscores that dharma and nīti are supported by a broad sacred knowledge-system: authoritative tradition (āgama), Purāṇic memory, the exemplary origins of seers, the sanctity and lineages of tīrthas, and the cosmic ordering of nakṣatras. Ethical life and governance are thus linked to inherited wisdom and the structure of the world.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira after the war. Here he is listing domains of traditional knowledge that have been (or are being) expounded—Purāṇas, seer-origins, tīrtha traditions, and nakṣatra genealogies—framing the instruction as comprehensive and rooted in sacred precedent.