Shloka 79

Devanagari script

षाड्गुण्यगुणसारैषा स्थास्यत्यग्रे महात्मसु । धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाश्ष सकला ह्वात्र शब्दिता:

Transliteration

ṣāḍguṇyaguṇasāraiṣā sthāsyaty agre mahātmasu | dharmārthakāmamokṣāś ca sakalā hy atra śabditāḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“此教法乃六策之精髓——和（结盟）、战（交兵）、行军出征、按兵驻守、求援依附，以及两面之策。于大心之士中，它将居于首位。在此论典中，人的四大目标——法（dharma）、利（artha）、欲（kāma）与解脱（mokṣa）——皆被阐明并加以论述。”

Word by Word

• षाड्गुण्यगुणसारैषा: this (science) which is the essence of the sixfold policy/qualities
• षाड्गुण्यगुणसारैषा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: षाड्गुण्य-गुण-सार-एषा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• स्थास्यति: will stand / will remain
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), 3rd, Singular

• अग्रे: in front / foremost
• अग्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्र
• Form: Adverb

• महात्मसु: among great-souled persons
• महात्मसु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाः: dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa (the four aims of life)
• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म-अर्थ-काम-मोक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सकलाः: all / entire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अत्र: here / in this (treatise)
• अत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र
• Form: Adverb

• शब्दिताः: are stated / are expounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: शब्दित (शब्द् धातु, क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Passive (past participle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma praises a śāstra/vidyā as supreme because it distills the essence of ṣāḍguṇya (six strategic policies of governance) while also encompassing the complete framework of the four puruṣārthas—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—showing that effective rule and ethical-spiritual aims should be integrated.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on kingship and right conduct after the war. Here he highlights the authority and comprehensiveness of a teaching on policy and human goals, presenting it as foremost among the wise and as a guide for both governance and life’s ultimate purposes.