Shloka 7

Varṇa-lakṣaṇa and Ātma-saṃyama (Marks of Social Conduct and Self-Restraint) | वर्णलक्षणम् एवं आत्मसंयमः

Devanagari script

पुलाका इव धान्येषु पुत्तिका इव पक्षिषु । तद्विधास्ते मनुष्याणां येषां धर्मो न कारणम्‌

Transliteration

pulākā iva dhānyeṣu puttikā iva pakṣiṣu | tadvidhās te manuṣyāṇāṃ yeṣāṃ dharmo na kāraṇam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“正如谷物之中有空瘪无用之苗，正如有翼之众中有微小蚊蚋；同样，在人世之中，那些不以达摩为动机的人，也不过如此。”

Word by Word

• पुलाकाः: chaff / hollow stalks
• पुलाकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलाक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• धान्येषु: among grains
• धान्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• पुत्तिकाः: gnats/mosquitoes (small insects)
• पुत्तिकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्तिका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

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

• पक्षिषु: among birds/winged creatures
• पक्षिषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• तद्विधाः: of that kind, such
• तद्विधाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्विध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• मनुष्याणाम्: of men / among humans
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• येषाम्: of whom
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• धर्मः: dharma, righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• कारणम्: cause, motive, purpose
• कारणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• humans (manuṣyāḥ)
• grain/crops (dhānya)
• gnat/mosquito (puttikā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person’s worth in society is measured by whether dharma is their guiding purpose; without dharma as motive, one becomes socially and ethically insignificant, like a hollow stalk among grain or a gnat among winged beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues a moral discourse, using sharp similes to condemn those who live without dharma as their aim.