Shloka 137

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

सूचीरोमा हरिश्मश्रुरूर्ध्वकेशश्वलाचल: । गीतवादित्रतत्त्वज्ञो गीतवादनकप्रिय:

Transliteration

sūcīromā hariśmaśrur ūrdhvakeśaś calācalaḥ | gītavāditratattvajño gītavādanakapriyaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“他身毛如针；髭须黝黑。头发直竖而上。他具现动与不动两界。其人洞悉歌唱与器乐之真义，尤喜歌咏与奏乐。”

Word by Word

• सूचीरोमा: having hair like needles (bristly-haired)
• सूचीरोमा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूचीरोमन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हरिश्मश्रुः: having tawny/dark moustache and beard
• हरिश्मश्रुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हरिश्मश्रु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ऊर्ध्वकेशः: having hair standing upright
• ऊर्ध्वकेशः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्वकेश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चलाचलः: both moving and unmoving (all beings)
• चलाचलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चलाचल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गीतवादित्रतत्त्वज्ञः: knower of the principles of singing and instruments
• गीतवादित्रतत्त्वज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गीतवादित्रतत्त्वज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गीतवादनकप्रियः: fond of singing and playing (music)
• गीतवादनकप्रियः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गीतवादनकप्रिय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• gīta (song)
• vāditra (musical instruments)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a figure marked by unusual ascetic/cosmic traits yet also refined knowledge of the arts: true excellence can include mastery of aesthetic disciplines (song and instruments) alongside a broader, all-encompassing vision of reality (calācala—moving and unmoving).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he is describing a particular being/person by distinctive physical signs and capacities—especially his comprehensive nature and his expertise and fondness for music—within a larger didactic context.