Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पन्थान: सर्वनेतारो यज्ञवाहा: सनातना: । पितृपैतामहीं गुर्वीमुद्गहन्ति धुरं सदा

Transliteration

panthānaḥ sarva-netāro yajña-vāhāḥ sanātanāḥ | pitṛ-paitāmahīṁ gurvīm udgahnanti dhuraṁ sadā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“婆罗门是众人的示道者——领袖，也是永恒祭祀（yajña）传统的承载者。他们常常担负起由父祖相传的沉重法度之轭。”

Word by Word

• पन्थानः: paths / ways
• पन्थानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वनेतारः: leaders of all (guides of everyone)
• सर्वनेतारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वनेतृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यज्ञवाहाः: bearers/performers of sacrifice
• यज्ञवाहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञवाह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सनातनाः: eternal, ancient
• सनातनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सनातन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पितृपैतामहीं: ancestral (of fathers and grandfathers)
• पितृपैतामहीं: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृपैतामह
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गुर्वीम्: heavy, weighty
• गुर्वीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुरु
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• उद्गहन्ति: they bear / carry (up)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + गह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• धुरम्: burden, yoke-load
• धुरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धुर्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सदा: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahmins (brāhmaṇāḥ)
• Yajña (sacrifice)
• Ancestral forefathers (pitṛ, pitāmaha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents Brahmins as custodians of dharma and Vedic sacrificial culture: they guide society and uphold an inherited, demanding moral-religious responsibility across generations.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and social-religious duties. Here he emphasizes the Brahmin’s traditional role as teacher/guide and as one who sustains yajña and ancestral norms.