Shloka 9
Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances
Devanagari script
वसन् पितृवने रौद्रे शौचे वर्तितुमिच्छसि । इयं विप्रतिपत्तिस्ते यदा त्वं पिशिताशन:
Transliteration
vasan pitṛvane raudre śauce vartitum icchasi | iyaṁ vipratipattis te yadā tvaṁ piśitāśanaḥ ||
Translation
毗湿摩说道：“你住在祖灵那可怖的火葬场中，却仍想以清净自持而行。这与你的决意相违，因为你本是食肉者。”
Word by Word
वसन्dwelling, living
वसन्:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootवस् (धातु)
Formशतृ, परस्मैपदी-कर्तरि, पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन
पितृवनेin the ancestral grove / cremation-ground (lit. fathers' forest)
पितृवने:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootपितृवन
Formनपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन
रौद्रेin the dreadful (place)
रौद्रे:
Adhikarana
TypeAdjective
Rootरौद्र
Formनपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन
शौचेin purity / in a state of cleanliness
शौचे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootशौच
Formनपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन
वर्तितुम्to behave / to conduct oneself
वर्तितुम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootवृत् (धातु)
Formतुमुन् (infinitive), कर्तरि, अव्यय (कृदन्त)
इच्छसिyou desire / you wish
इच्छसि:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootइष् (धातु)
Formलट्, मध्यम, एकवचन, परस्मैपदी
इयम्this (she/this thing)
इयम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootइदम् (सर्वनाम)
Formस्त्री, प्रथमा, एकवचन
विप्रतिपत्तिःcontradiction / perverse resolve
विप्रतिपत्तिः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootविप्रतिपत्ति
Formस्त्री, प्रथमा, एकवचन
तेof you / your
ते:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootयुष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
Formषष्ठी, एकवचन
यदाwhen
यदा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयदा
त्वम्you
त्वम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootयुष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
Formप्रथमा, एकवचन
पिशिताशनःa flesh-eater
पिशिताशनः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootपिशिताशन
Formपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaP
pitṛ-vana (cremation-ground)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical demand for consistency between one’s nature/way of life and one’s claimed ideals: aspiring to purity while persisting in impure conduct is presented as a ‘vipratipatti’—a self-contradiction.
Bhishma addresses a flesh-eating being associated with a cremation-ground and points out the incongruity of its wish to live by pure conduct, framing the situation as a moral and practical inconsistency.