Shloka 15

Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment

Devanagari script

भवन्त: सुमहाभागास्तस्मात्‌ पृच्छामि संशयम्‌ । आशावान्‌ पुरुषो यः स्यादन्तरिक्षमथापि वा

Transliteration

bhavantaḥ sumahābhāgās tasmāt pṛcchāmi saṁśayam | āśāvān puruṣo yaḥ syād antarīkṣam athāpi vā |

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“诸位皆是大福德、已成就的圣者，因此我来请你们解我心中疑惑。若一边是凭希望而立的人，另一边是无边的苍穹——以世间衡量伟大之尺度，你们以为哪一个更大？我愿如实听闻。既已来到此处，又有什么还算难得呢？”

Word by Word

• भवन्तः: you (honorific), sirs
• भवन्तः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सुमहाभागाः: very fortunate / greatly blessed
• सुमहाभागाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमहाभाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तस्मात्: therefore, hence
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तस्मात् (तद्)

• पृच्छामि: I ask
• पृच्छामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ्
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• संशयम्: doubt
• संशयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आशावान्: hopeful
• आशावान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशावत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुरुषः: man, person
• पुरुषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्यात्: would be / may be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अन्तरिक्षम्: mid-air, sky, space
• अन्तरिक्षम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: and then / or else
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

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

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• antarīkṣa (the sky/mid-space)
• āśāvān puruṣa (the hopeful person)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a moral-philosophical inquiry: true ‘greatness’ is not only cosmic vastness (the sky) but may lie in the human capacity for hope and aspiration, which drives effort, endurance, and ethical striving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma respectfully addresses revered interlocutors (tapasvins/wise ones) and asks them to settle a doubt by comparing the greatness of a hopeful person with the vast sky, requesting a principled, truthful explanation.