Shloka 9

Gautama’s Flight, the Enchanted Grove, and the Arrival of Rājadharma

Nāḍījaṅgha

Devanagari script

त्यागो ध्यानमथार्यत्वं धृतिश्व॒ सततं स्थिरा । अहिंसा चैव राजेन्द्र सत्याकारास्त्रयोदश

Transliteration

tyāgo dhyānam athāryatvaṃ dhṛtiś ca satataṃ sthirā | ahiṃsā caiva rājendra satyākārās trayodaśa ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，舍离、禅观、崇高的行持、恒常不动的坚忍，以及不害（阿希姆萨）——这些（连同先前所说诸德）合为真实本身的十三种形态。真实不止于言辞；它是一整套伦理品格，表现为自制、安住与不伤害。”

Word by Word

• {'tyāgaḥ': 'renunciation

• letting go of possessiveness and selfish claim', 'dhyānam': 'meditation

• sustained contemplative attention (especially on the Self/Ātman)', 'āryatvam': 'nobility

• refined and righteous conduct befitting the virtuous (ārya)', 'dhṛtiḥ': 'fortitude

• steadfast courage and inner firmness', 'satataṃ': 'always

• continuously', 'sthirā': 'steady

• unshaken, stable', 'ahiṃsā': 'non-violence

• non-injury in thought, word, and deed', 'rājendra': 'O best of kings

• epithet addressing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'satyākārāḥ': 'forms/embodiments of truth

• modes in which satya manifests', 'trayodaśa': 'thirteen'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as rājendra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truth (satya) is presented as a comprehensive moral reality, not only truthful speech. It manifests as a cluster of virtues—here highlighted as renunciation, meditation, noble conduct, steady fortitude, and non-violence—showing that living truthfully means embodying disciplined, harmless, and steadfast character.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma, lying on the bed of arrows, continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this verse he enumerates virtues and declares them to be ‘forms of Truth,’ integrating ethical qualities into a single ideal for righteous kingship and personal conduct.