Shloka 8
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
मानुषं लोकमातिष्ठ वासुदेव इति श्रुत: । असुराणां वधार्थाय सम्भवस्व महीतले
mānuṣaṁ lokam ātiṣṭha vāsudeva iti śrutaḥ | asurāṇāṁ vadhārthāya sambhavasva mahītale ||
মানুষলোকেই অবস্থান গ্রহণ করো—‘বাসুদেব’ নামে প্রসিদ্ধ হয়ে—এবং অসুরদের বিনাশার্থে পৃথিবীতে অবতীর্ণ হও।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames divine descent into the human realm as a dharmic intervention: when destructive forces threaten cosmic and social order, the divine assumes human presence to protect the world and remove adharma.
Bhīṣma reports an injunction directed to Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa): to take birth on earth in human society with the specific mission of eliminating Asuric forces, setting the background for Kṛṣṇa’s role in the conflict and restoration of order.