Shloka 34

धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)

Devanagari script

तेषामेकान्तिन: श्रेष्ठा ये चैवानन्यदेवता: । अहमेव गतिस्तेषां निराशी: कर्मकारिणाम्‌

Transliteration

teṣām ekāntinaḥ śreṣṭhā ye caivānanyadevatāḥ | aham eva gatis teṣāṃ nirāśīḥ karmakāriṇām ||

Translation

在他们之中，最上者是专一不二之人——不承认其他神祇者。对那些不求果报而履行本分的人而言，唯有我才是他们的归依与究竟之所。

Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• एकान्तिनः: exclusive devotees (single-minded ones)
• एकान्तिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकान्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• श्रेष्ठाः: the best
• श्रेष्ठाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ये: who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अनन्यदेवताः: those whose deity is none other (exclusive worshippers)
• अनन्यदेवताः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनन्यदेवता
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: alone/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• गतिः: refuge/goal
• गतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तेषाम्: for them/of them
• तेषाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• निराशीः: free from desire/without expectation
• निराशीः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराशी
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कर्मकारिणाम्: of those who perform actions (doers of duty)
• कर्मकारिणाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मकारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Aham (the speaker’s self-reference, i.e., the addressed supreme refuge in context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises single-pointed, exclusive devotion joined with niṣkāma-karma (acting without craving for results). Such a person’s ethical life is grounded in duty performed without bargaining for reward, and their ultimate refuge is the supreme reality addressed as “I.”

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna speaks, identifying a highest type among practitioners: those who are unwavering and do not seek other divine supports. He states that for those who act without expectation, the speaker (the supreme refuge in the discourse) is their sole destination and support.