Shloka 3

Devanagari script

कर्मेज्या मानवानां च दानवैहैंहयर्षभ । भ्रष्टैश्चर्यास्ततो देवाश्चेरु: पृथ्वीमिति श्रुति:

Transliteration

karmejyā mānavānāṃ ca dānavair haihayarṣabha | bhraṣṭaiś caryās tato devāś ceruḥ pṛthvīm iti śrutiḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：“海诃耶族中的雄牛啊，传闻但那婆（Dānava）使人间行事与祭祀之礼尽皆消失。诸天失其应行之仪轨，又从神圣的荣华中坠落，于是困苦地徘徊于大地之上。”

Word by Word

• कर्म: ritual act / prescribed rite
• कर्म: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इज्या: worship; sacrifice (yajña)
• इज्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: इज्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• मानवानाम्: of humans
• मानवानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• दानवैः: by the Dānavas (demons)
• दानवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हैहयर्षभ: O bull among the Haihayas (best of the Haihayas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हैहय-ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भ्रष्टैः: having fallen (from); deprived (of)
• भ्रष्टैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• चर्याः: practices/observances
• चर्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चेरुः: wandered; roamed
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• पृथ्वीम्: the earth
• पृथ्वीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथ्वी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रुतिः: tradition; report; what is heard
• श्रुतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Haihayas (addressed king/hero)
• Danavas
• Devas
• Earth (Pṛthvī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When prescribed rites and ethical-religious observances collapse, even the gods are portrayed as losing stability and prosperity; the verse underscores that dharma (sustained through right conduct and ritual order) is a pillar of cosmic and social well-being.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts a traditional report: the Danavas overpower the gods and disrupt the world’s ritual life, leading to the gods’ loss of splendor and their wandering upon the earth in hardship.