Shloka 14

Brāhmaṇa-bheda-nirṇaya and Rājā’s Regulatory Duties (ब्राह्मणभेदनिर्णयः)

Devanagari script

स चेन्नो परिवर्तेत कृतवृत्ति: परंतप । ततो निर्वासनीय: स्यात्‌ तस्माद्‌ देशात्‌ सबान्धव:

Transliteration

sa cen no parivarteta kṛtavṛttiḥ parantapa | tato nirvāsanīyaḥ syāt tasmād deśāt sabāndhavaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“克敌者啊，若在为他备妥正当生计之后，他仍不悔改——仍如从前一般行窃——便当将他与其亲族一并逐出此国。”

Word by Word

• सः: he/that man
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चेत्: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत्

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• परिवर्तेत: should change/turn back (reform)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-वृत्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

• कृतवृत्तिः: one whose livelihood has been arranged/provided
• कृतवृत्तिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतवृत्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परंतप: O scorcher of foes (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परंतप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• निर्वासनीयः: to be banished/exiled
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्वासनीय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्यात्: should be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तस्मात्: from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• देशात्: from the country/region
• देशात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• स: he
• स: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बान्धवैः: with kinsmen/relatives
• बान्धवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बान्धव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• परंतप: O scorcher of foes (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परंतप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Parantapa (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)
• a Brahmin (implied in the prose gloss as the subject)
• country/region (deśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should first try to reform an offender by ensuring a lawful livelihood; if the person still refuses to change and persists in theft, banishment is justified to safeguard society and uphold dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on governance and dharma, he advises Yudhiṣṭhira about dealing with a habitual thief: provide means of living first, but if no reform occurs, expel him (even with his kin) from the realm.