Shloka 23

Puruṣaikatva-vyākhyāna: The One Virāṭ Puruṣa and the Many ‘Puruṣas’

Rudra–Brahmā Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

अवश्यं तपसा तेषां फलितव्यं नृपोत्तम । यतस्त्वं सहसा भ्रष्ट आकाशान्मेदिनीतलम्‌

Transliteration

avaśyaṃ tapasā teṣāṃ phalitavyaṃ nṛpottama | yatastvaṃ sahasā bhraṣṭa ākāśān medinītalam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“噢，诸王之最！那些大婆罗门的苦行必定已经结出果报——因为你竟在顷刻之间从天上坠落到大地之上。因此，君王应当恒常敬奉此等婆罗门；他们的灵力终将不可避免地显现为可见的后果。”

Word by Word

• अवश्यम्: certainly, inevitably
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्य

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: neuter, instrumental, singular

• तेषाम्: of them
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, plural

• फलितव्यम्: must bear fruit / must result
• Type: Verb
• Root: फल्
• Form: gerundive (तव्यत्), neuter, nominative, singular, passive-necessity

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + उत्तम
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• यतः: since, because
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: nominative, singular

• सहसा: suddenly, abruptly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा

• भ्रष्टः: fallen, slipped down
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रंश्
• Form: past passive participle (क्त), masculine, nominative, singular

• आकाशात्: from the sky
• आकाशात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: neuter, ablative, singular

• मेदिनीतलम्: the surface of the earth (ground)
• मेदिनीतलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी + तल
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• nṛpa (king, addressed as nṛpottama/nṛpaśreṣṭha)
• brāhmaṇas (implied by context)
• ākāśa (sky)
• medinī-tala (earth/ground)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king should consistently honor and respect brāhmaṇas/ascetics, because the power generated by their tapas inevitably produces results; disregarding them can lead to sudden downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma explains a sudden fall of the king from the sky to the earth as the manifest ‘fruit’ of the brāhmaṇas’ austerities, using the event to reinforce a lesson on royal conduct and reverence toward spiritual authority.