Shloka 51

Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession

Devanagari script

अपि मूलफलाजीवो रमस्वैको महावने । वाग्यतः संगृहीतात्मा सर्वभूतदयान्वित:

Transliteration

api mūlaphalājīvo ramasvaiko mahāvane | vāgyataḥ saṅgṛhītātmā sarvabhūtadayānvitaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：纵使只能以根与果为食，也当独居大林而自得其乐。约束言语，摄持其心，并以慈悲遍及一切众生。

Word by Word

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• मूलफलाजीवः: one whose livelihood is (only) roots and fruits
• मूलफलाजीवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूलफलाजीव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रमस्व: take delight / live happily
• Type: Verb
• Root: रम्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Atmanepada

• एकः: alone
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महावने: in the great forest
• महावने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महावन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वाक्: by speech / in speech
• वाक्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• यतः: restrained
• यतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संगृहीतात्मा: one whose self (mind) is controlled
• संगृहीतात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संगृहीतात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वभूतदयान्वितः: endowed with compassion toward all beings
• सर्वभूतदयान्वितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वभूतदयान्वित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches a dharmic ascetic ideal: accept simple sustenance (roots and fruits), cultivate solitude and contentment, restrain speech, discipline mind and senses, and maintain universal compassion toward all beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on righteous conduct after the war, here prescribing a forest-ascetic mode of life marked by austerity, inner restraint, and kindness to all creatures.