Shloka 166

Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā

Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants

Devanagari script

दिश: सम्प्राद्रवन्‌ राजन्‌ भयाज्जीवितकांक्षिण: । राजन! उस शरभसे भयभीत हो जंगलके सभी पशु अपनी जान बचानेके लिये डरके मारे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें भाग गये

Transliteration

diśaḥ samprādravan rājan bhayāj jīvitakāṅkṣiṇaḥ |

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，众生因恐惧而起、又贪恋性命，便向四方奔逃。”此句强调：恐惧能使群类离散、失其常序；而求生之念往往压倒沉着与明辨。

Word by Word

• दिशः: directions (all quarters)
• दिशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• सम्प्राद्रवन्: ran away, fled
• सम्प्राद्रवन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-√द्रु (द्रवति)
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भयात्: from fear, out of fear
• भयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• जीवितकाङ्क्षिणः: desiring life, wishing to survive
• जीवितकाङ्क्षिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवित-काङ्क्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• King (rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fear destabilizes beings and drives them to disorderly flight; a ruler and a seeker of dharma should recognize fear’s power and cultivate steadiness so that decisions are not ruled by panic or mere survival-instinct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a scene where, out of terror, living creatures scatter and flee in every direction, emphasizing the intensity of the threat and the natural impulse to protect one’s life.