Shloka 42

Adhyaya 2 — The Lineage of Garuda and the Birth of the Wise Birds: Kanka and Kandhara

Sanskrit

वृत्ते युद्धे धर्मपुत्रे गते शान्तनवान्तिकम् ।

भीष्मस्य गदतोऽशेषान् श्रोतुं धर्मान् महात्मनः ॥

Transliteration

vṛtte yuddhe dharmaputre gate śāntanavāntikam / bhīṣmasya gadato 'śeṣān śrotuṃ dharmān mahātmanaḥ

Translation

战争既毕，达摩之子（坚战，Yudhiṣṭhira）前往善檀努之子（毗湿摩，Bhīṣma）处，欲详尽聆听那位大心者毗湿摩所宣说的一切法（dharma）。

Word by Word

• वृत्ते: when (it) had occurred/ended
• वृत्ते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); locative absolute with युद्धे

• युद्धे: in the battle
• युद्धे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• धर्मपुत्रे: when Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• धर्मपुत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative absolute)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); धर्मस्य पुत्रः (Yudhiṣṭhira)

• गते: had gone
• गते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past active participle (क्त, used in locative absolute), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with धर्मपुत्रे

• शान्तनव: (to) the son of Śantanu (Bhīṣma)
• शान्तनव: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तनव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन) in compound relation

• अन्तिकम्: near (him), to the vicinity
• अन्तिकम्: Karma (कर्म/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); शान्तनवस्य अन्तिकम् इति (near the Śāntanava)

• भीष्मस्य: of Bhīṣma
• भीष्मस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• गदतः: while speaking, as he spoke
• गदतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गद् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with भीष्मस्य

• अशेषान्: all, without remainder
• अशेषान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); qualifies धर्मान्

• श्रोतुम्: to hear
• श्रोतुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्) expressing purpose

• धर्मान्: duties, laws, teachings
• धर्मान्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); महात्मा = महान् आत्मा यस्य (honorific)

Speakers

• Narrative voice within Markandeya Purana (alluding to the Mahabharata setting); not the Devi Mahatmyam episode

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "dharma", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Itihasa linkage (Mahabharata)
• Transmission of ethical teaching
• Post-war moral inquiry

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

After catastrophic conflict, the rightful response is not triumphalism but ethical clarification: Yudhiṣṭhira seeks comprehensive guidance on dharma from Bhīṣma, indicating that legitimate rule and personal peace require instruction, repentance, and principled rebuilding.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse functions as an upodghāta (introductory frame) for dharma-teaching rather than a direct Pancalakṣaṇa item. Indirectly it supports 'vaṃśānucarita' (accounts of dynasties/lineages and their conduct) by referencing Kuru figures and the transmission of dharma through them.

What is the esoteric significance?

Symbolically, the 'ended war' represents the exhaustion of outward struggle; approaching Bhīṣma (a figure of vow, restraint, and bed-of-arrows austerity) signifies turning inward to disciplined discernment (dharma-vicāra) so that action is purified by wisdom rather than driven by grief or victory.