Shloka 8

दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint

Dama

Devanagari script

प्रकृत्या क्षेत्रभूतास्ता नस: क्षेत्रज्ञलक्षणा: । तस्मादेवाविशेषेण नरो5तीयाद्‌ विशेषत:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | prakṛtyā kṣetrabhūtās tā nārīḥ kṣetrajña-lakṣaṇāḥ | tasmād evāviśeṣeṇa naro ’tīyād viśeṣataḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：女人就其本性，当知为“田”（kṣetra）；男人则具“知田者”（kṣetrajña）之相。因此，作为一般准则，男子应以特别的警觉远离与女人的交往，以免为迷妄与执著所缚。

Word by Word

• प्रकृत्या: by nature
• प्रकृत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• क्षेत्रभूताः: having become the field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रभूताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्रभूत
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• ताः: those (women)
• ताः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

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

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

• क्षेत्रज्ञलक्षणाः: having the mark/nature of the knower of the field (kṣetrajña)
• क्षेत्रज्ञलक्षणाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्रज्ञलक्षण
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that reason
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अविशेषेण: in general/without distinction
• अविशेषेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविशेष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अतीयात्: should pass beyond/should avoid
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति-या
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• विशेषतः: especially/in particular
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a Sāṅkhya-style contrast of kṣetra (field of experience) and kṣetrajña (knower) to urge vigilance against attachment; ethically, it emphasizes self-restraint and guarding the mind from मोह (delusion) that can arise through sensual association.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and disciplines conducive to peace and liberation; here he offers a cautionary maxim about avoiding entanglement in desire, expressed through the kṣetra–kṣetrajña framework.