Shloka 21

Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra

Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability

Devanagari script

हस्तौ कर्मेन्द्रियं ज्ेयमथ पादौ गतीन्द्रियम्‌ । प्रजनानन्दयो: शेफो निसर्ग पायुरिन्द्रियम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | hastau karmendriyaṃ jñeyam atha pādau gatīndriyam | prajanānandayoḥ śepho nisargaḥ pāyur indriyam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：当知双手为行作之根，双足为行走之根。阳具用于繁衍子嗣，并得由交合而生之乐；肛门则为其自然职分——排泄秽物之根。

Word by Word

• {'hastau': 'the two hands', 'karmendriyam': 'organ of action

• faculty by which actions are performed', 'jñeyam': 'should be known/understood', 'atha': 'and then

• moreover', 'pādau': 'the two feet', 'gatīndriyam': 'organ/faculty of locomotion (movement)', 'prajana': 'procreation

• begetting offspring', 'ānanda': 'pleasure

• enjoyment', 'prajānandayoḥ': 'of procreation and pleasure (dual genitive)', 'śephaḥ': 'penis

• generative organ', 'nisargaḥ': 'natural function

• innate activity', 'pāyuḥ': 'anus', 'indriyam': 'sense-organ/faculty

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

It classifies bodily organs by their functions—hands for action, feet for movement, the generative organ for procreation and sexual pleasure, and the anus for excretion—supporting ethical self-discipline through clear knowledge of the senses and their proper roles.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma continues his didactic exposition to the listener, explaining the functional nature of the body’s faculties (indriyas) as part of a broader teaching on conduct, restraint, and understanding of embodied life.