Shloka 16

आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King

Devanagari script

दुर्लभ: स मया द्र॒ष्ट नूनं परमधार्मिक: । एक: पुत्रो महारण्ये नष्ट इत्यसकृत्‌ तदा

Transliteration

durlabhaḥ sa mayā draṣṭuṃ nūnaṃ paramadhārmikaḥ | ekaḥ putro mahāraṇye naṣṭa iti asakṛt tadā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“如今我想再见那位至为正法之人，必定艰难。‘我只有一个儿子，却在这无边大林中失散了’——他就这样一遍又一遍地重复着这些话。”

Word by Word

• दुर्लभः: hard to obtain/rare (to be seen)
• दुर्लभः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• द्रष्टः: seen
• द्रष्टः: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नूनम्: surely/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम्

• परमधार्मिकः: supremely righteous
• परमधार्मिकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परमधार्मिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एकः: one/only
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महा-अरण्ये: in the great forest
• महा-अरण्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• नष्टः: lost/perished
• नष्टः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus/quoting
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• असकृत्: repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असकृत्

• तदा: then/at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• a supremely righteous man (unnamed in this verse)
• the son (unnamed)
• mahāraṇya (great forest)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how even a highly dharmic person can be overwhelmed by grief and attachment; repeated lamentation shows the human side of righteousness and invites compassion rather than judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma recounts a scene where a very righteous man repeatedly laments that his only son has gone missing in a vast forest, implying separation and the difficulty of meeting him again.