Shloka 45

जनक–सुलभा संवादः

Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment

Devanagari script

हिरण्यगर्भादृषिणा वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । वसिष्ठादृषिशार्दूलान्नारदो5वाप्तवानिदम्‌

Transliteration

hiraṇyagarbhād ṛṣiṇā vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā | vasiṣṭhād ṛṣiśārdūlān nārado ’vāptavān idam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“此教法为大圣仙婆悉吒所受；这位大德先从金胎（Hiraṇyagarbha）处学得。由婆悉吒——诸仙之虎——那罗陀得之。如此，这关于梵的永恒训诫，循此传承而至于我。库鲁之王啊，此智导向至上境界；既已听闻，便舍弃忧悲。”

Word by Word

• {'hiraṇyagarbha': 'Hiraṇyagarbha

• the cosmic ‘golden embryo’/primeval creator principle, often identified with Brahmā in cosmogonic contexts', 'ṛṣiṇā': 'by the sage (instrumental singular of ṛṣi)', 'vasiṣṭhena': 'by Vasiṣṭha (instrumental singular)', 'mahātmanā': 'by the great-souled one

• noble, spiritually eminent (instrumental singular)', 'vasiṣṭhāt': 'from Vasiṣṭha (ablative singular)', 'ṛṣiśārdūlāt': 'from the ‘tiger among sages’

• an epithet meaning foremost of seers (ablative singular)', 'nāradaḥ': 'Nārada, the divine sage and messenger', 'avāptavān': 'obtained, attained, received (perfect participial form)', 'idam': 'this (teaching/knowledge)', 'sanātana': 'eternal, ancient, perennial', 'brahma-upadeśa': 'instruction concerning Brahman

• teaching of ultimate reality', 'parama-pada': 'the highest state/goal (liberation, supreme abode)', 'śoka': 'grief, sorrow', 'tyaj': 'abandon, give up (imperative sense in context)', 'kauravanṛpa/kauravanareśa': 'king of the Kurus

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Vasiṣṭha
• Nārada
• Kaurava king (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the authority and purpose of spiritual knowledge by tracing it through a revered lineage (Hiraṇyagarbha → Vasiṣṭha → Nārada → Bhīṣma) and declaring it as knowledge of Brahman that leads to the highest goal (parama-pada). Its ethical thrust is practical: true insight should culminate in inner steadiness—here, the abandonment of grief.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira after the war, addressing his sorrow and moral turmoil. In this verse, Bhīṣma legitimizes the teaching he is about to convey by citing its transmission through great sages and urges the Kuru king to relinquish grief upon hearing this liberating doctrine.