Shloka 20

Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga

Body-Relinquishment

Devanagari script

देवदानवगन्धर्वा यक्षराक्षसपन्नगा:

Transliteration

devadānavagandharvā yakṣarākṣasapannagāḥ

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“诸天、达那婆（Dānava）、乾闼婆（Gandharva）、夜叉（Yakṣa）、罗刹（Rākṣasa），以及蛇类众生（pannaga）……”

Word by Word

• देव: gods
• देव: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दानव: demons (Danavas)
• दानव: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गन्धर्वा: Gandharvas (celestial musicians)
• गन्धर्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यक्ष: Yakshas
• यक्ष: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राक्षस: Rakshasas
• राक्षस: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पन्नगा: serpents (Nagas)
• पन्नगा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पन्नग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Dānavas
• Gandharvas
• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas
• Pannagas (Nāgas/serpent-beings)
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

By listing many orders of beings (devas through nāgas), Bhīṣma signals that the principle he is about to state is universal—grounded in dharma and cosmic order rather than limited to a single community or species.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma is speaking and begins a catalogue of beings—gods, semi-divine groups, spirits, and serpent-races—typically used to emphasize that a rule, observation, or consequence is acknowledged across the entire world-system.