Shloka 26

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः

Devanagari script

मा शुचो भरतमश्रेष्ठ न त्वं शोचितुमरहसि

Transliteration

mā śuco bharataśreṣṭha na tvaṃ śocitum arhasi

Translation

三阇耶说道：“莫要悲伤，婆罗多族中最卓越者啊；你不应当哀恸。”在战争叙事之中，此句如同道义的安慰——把听者从令人瘫软的悲痛中唤回，引向坚忍与依达摩而行的正当作为。

Word by Word

• मा: do not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा
• Form: Prohibitive particle used with imperative/optative

• शुचः: grieve
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुच्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person singular, Parasmaipada (from √शुच् 'to grieve')

• भरतमश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतमश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, vocative singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: Negation particle

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: Masculine/Feminine (personal pronoun), nominative singular

• शोचितुम्: to grieve
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुच्
• Form: Infinitive (tumun), active sense

• अरहसि: are fit / ought
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present tense, 2nd person singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bharataśreṣṭha (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse discourages grief that weakens discernment and resolve. It urges emotional steadiness and moral composure, implying that one should face events—especially in a dharmic crisis like war—without collapsing into lamentation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addresses him as “best of the Bharatas” and counsels him not to grieve—an attempt to steady the king as he hears of the unfolding conflict and its consequences.