Shloka 21

Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati

Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal

Devanagari script

गान्धर्व नारदो वेद भरद्वाजो धर्नुग्रहम्‌ । देवर्षिचरितं गार्ग्य: कृष्णात्रेयश्विकित्सितम्‌

Transliteration

gāndharvaṃ nārado veda bharadvājo dhanur-graham | devarṣi-caritaṃ gārgyaḥ kṛṣṇātreyaś cikitsitam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：那罗陀（Nārada）精通乾闼婆之学（音乐与天界艺能）；婆罗堕阇（Bharadvāja）精通弓术之学（Dhanur-veda）；圣者伽尔吉耶（Gārgya）通晓天仙圣者（devarṣi）之行传与传统；而黑阿特雷耶（Kṛṣṇa Ātreya）精通医方之学。

Word by Word

• गान्धर्वः: Gāndharva (a sage/authority on music)
• गान्धर्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गान्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वेद: knew / came to know
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भरद्वाजः: Bharadvāja
• भरद्वाजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरद्वाज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धनुः-ग्रहं: the science/skill of archery (lit. taking up the bow)
• धनुः-ग्रहं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्-ग्रह
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• देवर्षि-चरितं: the deeds/biography of the divine seers
• देवर्षि-चरितं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवर्षि-चरित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गार्ग्यः: Gārgya
• गार्ग्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गार्ग्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णात्रेयः: Kṛṣṇātreya
• कृष्णात्रेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णात्रेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चिकित्सितम्: medical science / therapeutics
• चिकित्सितम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिकित्सित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Narada
• Bharadvaja
• Gargya
• Krishna Atreya
• Gandharva-vidya (Gandharva lore)
• Dhanurveda (science of archery)
• Devarshi-carita (accounts of divine seers)
• Chikitsa (medical science)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is strengthened by disciplined mastery of knowledge: different sages embody different vidyās, showing that ethical life includes cultivating and applying one’s specialized skill for the good of the world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma lists exemplary sages and the fields they mastered—music (Narada), archery (Bharadvaja), traditions of divine seers (Gargya), and medicine (Krishna Atreya)—as part of a broader Shanti Parva discourse on learning, conduct, and the supports of righteous order.