Shloka 127

धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)

Devanagari script

सुरासुरैर्यथा राजन्‌ निर्मथ्यामृतमुद्धूतम्‌

Transliteration

surāsurair yathā rājan nirmathyāmṛtam uddhūtam

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，正如诸天与阿修罗搅拌翻涌，遂涌现出不死甘露。”

Word by Word

• सुरासुरैः: by the gods and the demons
• सुरासुरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + असुर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• निर्मथ्य: having churned
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + मथ्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• अमृतम्: nectar, ambrosia
• अमृतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• उद्धूतम्: raised up, brought forth (churned out)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + धू
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the King (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Devas (Suras)
• Asuras
• Amṛta (nectar of immortality)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma uses the churning of the ocean as an ethical analogy: valuable outcomes (like amṛta) arise through sustained effort and disciplined process, even amid rivalry. The image supports counsel on patient striving and extracting the best result from difficult circumstances.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he invokes the well-known episode where devas and asuras churned to obtain amṛta, using it as a comparison to frame his ongoing instruction.