Shloka 14

कपोती-विलापः स्वर्गसंयोगश्च

The Dove’s Lament and Celestial Reunion

Devanagari script

ये नृशंसा दुरात्मान: प्राणिप्राणहरा नरा: । उद्बवेजनीया भूतानां व्याला इव भवन्ति ते

Transliteration

ye nṛśaṃsā durātmānaḥ prāṇiprāṇaharā narāḥ | udvejanīyā bhūtānāṃ vyālā iva bhavanti te ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：凡残忍而心性邪恶、夺取众生命者，必为一切众生所畏惧、所厌憎——如同毒蛇。此教诫在于：出于残酷的暴力会使人脱离道德共同体；如此一生，举世皆惧而不敬。

Word by Word

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नृशंसाः: cruel, pitiless
• नृशंसाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नृशंस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दुरात्मानः: evil-souled, wicked
• दुरात्मानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्राणि-प्राण-हराः: life-stealers of living beings
• प्राणि-प्राण-हराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राणिप्राणहर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नराः: men, persons
• नराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• उद्वेजनीयाः: to be shunned/feared; causing agitation
• उद्वेजनीयाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्वेजनीय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भूतानाम्: of creatures, of beings
• भूतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• व्यालाः: serpents (wild beasts)
• व्यालाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• भवन्ति: become/are
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• narāḥ (men)
• prāṇinaḥ/bhūtāni (living beings/creatures)
• vyālāḥ (serpents/dangerous creatures)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cruelty and the taking of life make a person universally feared and shunned; ethical conduct (especially restraint from harming beings) is essential for social trust and moral standing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he characterizes violent, cruel men as comparable to serpents—creatures that all beings instinctively avoid—highlighting the social and moral consequences of such behavior.