Shloka 5

Anuśāsana-parva Adhyāya 112: Dharma as the sole companion; karmic witnesses; rebirth sequences

Bṛhaspati–Yudhiṣṭhira Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

निर्ममा निरहंकारा निर्दधन्धा निष्परिग्रहा: | शुचयस्तीर्थभूतास्ते ये भैक्ष्यमुपभुज्जते

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | nirmamā nirahaṅkārā nirdvandvā niṣparigrahāḥ | śucayas tīrthabhūtās te ye bhaikṣyam upabhuñjate ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：凡离于占有之心与我慢之念，超越诸对待之相，不聚敛、不执著财物者——那些以乞食自活、内心清净的人，本身就如同圣地与渡口（tīrtha）。他们的生活方式，成为克制、谦卑与达摩的活教材。

Word by Word

• निर्ममाः: free from possessiveness
• निर्ममाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मम (निर् + मम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निरहंकाराः: free from egoism
• निरहंकाराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरहंकार (निर् + अहंकार)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निर्द्वन्द्वाः: free from pairs of opposites
• निर्द्वन्द्वाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्द्वन्द्व (निर् + द्वन्द्व)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निष्परिग्रहाः: without possessions/attachments
• निष्परिग्रहाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष्परिग्रह (निस् + परिग्रह)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शुचयः: pure
• शुचयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तीर्थभूताः: become/being like a sacred ford (a holy place)
• तीर्थभूताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थभूत (तीर्थ + भूत)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ये: who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भैक्ष्यम्: alms (food obtained by begging)
• भैक्ष्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भैक्ष्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• उपभुञ्जते: enjoy/partake (of)
• उपभुञ्जते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + भुज्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Atmanepada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (speaker)
• tīrtha (sacred ford/pilgrimage-place)
• bhaikṣya (alms)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A truly holy person is defined not by external rites but by inner freedom: absence of possessiveness and ego, equanimity beyond dualities, and non-accumulation. Such a person, living simply on alms, becomes ‘tīrtha-like’—a source of purification and moral inspiration for others.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he describes the marks of purified ascetics and virtuous renouncers. He elevates their disciplined, non-possessive life as itself a sacred presence, comparable to a pilgrimage-site.