Shloka 80

कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line

Devanagari script

ततस्तमिषुमादाय विष्णुसोमाग्निसम्भवम्‌

Transliteration

tatastam iṣum ādāya viṣṇu-soma-agni-sambhavam

Translation

ثم تناول الجدُّ الأكبرُ ذلك السهمَ—الذي يُقال إنه نشأ من اتحاد قوةِ فيشنو وسوما وأغني—إشارةً إلى استعمالٍ مقصودٍ لسلاحٍ مُؤيَّدٍ بالقدرة الإلهية في خضمّ الأزمة الأخلاقية التي تتكشف في الحرب.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/then')

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इषुम्: arrow
• इषुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: इषु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय), indeclinable; 'having taken'

• विष्णु-सोम-अग्नि-सम्भवम्: born of (originating from) Viṣṇu, Soma, and Agni
• विष्णु-सोम-अग्नि-सम्भवम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्भव (from सम् + भू) / सम्भव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• पितामह (Bhīṣma)
• इषु (divine arrow)
• विष्णु
• सोम
• अग्नि

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the gravity of invoking divinely sourced force in battle: power is not merely technical but morally weighty, and its use implies responsibility, restraint, and awareness of dharma amid violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma (the grandsire) takes up a particular arrow described as born from the powers of Viṣṇu, Soma, and Agni, indicating preparation to employ an extraordinary, consecrated missile in the ongoing conflict.