Shloka 8

Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः

Devanagari script

न च पश्यामि य: पार्थ विजयेत रणे बलात्‌ | वर्जयित्वा विरूपाक्षं भगनेत्रहरं हरम्‌

Transliteration

na ca paśyāmi yaḥ pārtha vijayet raṇe balāt | varjayitvā virūpākṣaṃ bhaganetra-haraṃ haram ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Und, o Pārtha, ich sehe niemanden, der ihn im Kampf allein durch rohe Kraft besiegen könnte—außer Hara, dem dreiaugigen Herrn (Virūpākṣa), dem, der Bhaga das Auge nahm.“

Word by Word

नnot

चand

पश्यामिI see

यःwho

पार्थम्Partha (Arjuna)

विजयेत्might conquer/defeat

रणेin battle

बलात्by force/through strength

वर्जयित्वाexcluding/excepting

विरूपाक्षम्Virupaksha (the odd-eyed one; Shiva)

भगनेत्रहरम्the remover of Bhaga's eye

हरम्Hara (Shiva)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Hara (Śiva/Rudra)

Virūpākṣa (Śiva)

Bhaga

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the greatest human martial power has limits; ultimate supremacy belongs to the divine (here, Śiva/Hara). The verse frames true strength with humility and recognition of a higher cosmic authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the epic, emphasizes that the warrior being discussed is unconquerable by mere human force in battle, and names only Śiva—identified through epithets like Virūpākṣa and Bhaganetra-hara—as an exception.