Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 20

Adhyāya 325: Nārada in Śvetadvīpa—Stotra to the Nirguṇa Mahātman

Devanagari script

तत्र ग्रामान्‌ बहून्‌ पश्चन्‌ बचद्धनज्नरससभोजनान्‌ । पल्लीघोषान्‌ समृद्धांश्व बहुगोकुलसंकुलान्‌

Transliteration

tatra grāmān bahūn paśyan baddha-dhānya-rasa-bhojanān | pallī-ghoṣān samṛddhāṁś ca bahu-gokula-saṅkulān ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：“在那里，他看见许多村落，仓廪充实，水源不乏，诸般滋养之资皆备。又见富庶的聚落与牧牛之所，挤满牧人居处与成群牛畜——皆是生计有序、乡里财富善加经营的征象。”

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• ग्रामान्: villages
• ग्रामान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• बहून्: many
• बहून्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पश्यन्: seeing
• पश्यन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बहु: much
• बहु: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अन्न: food, grain
• अन्न: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रस: drink, juice
• रस: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• भोजनान्: foods, meals
• भोजनान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोजन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पल्ली: hamlets
• पल्ली: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पल्ली
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• घोषान्: cowherd-settlements, cattle-stations
• घोषान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: घोष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समृद्धान्: prosperous
• समृद्धान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बहु: many
• बहु: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गोकुल: herd of cows, cattle-group
• गोकुल: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकुल
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• संकुलान्: crowded, filled
• संकुलान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकुल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• grāma (villages)
• pallī (hamlets)
• ghoṣa (cowherd settlements/cattle-stations)
• gokula (cowherds’ herds/cattle communities)
• dhānya (grain stores)
• bhojana (food/provisions)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic marker of good governance and social stability: villages and pastoral settlements thrive when essentials—grain, water, and food—are secure and abundant, and when cattle wealth is protected and well-managed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes what is seen on a journey or survey of the land: numerous well-provisioned villages and prosperous hamlets/cattle-stations, densely filled with cowherd communities and herds, indicating a flourishing countryside.