Shloka 23

नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा

Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ शिरस्यभिहते स जटान्तर्गतो भगुः

Transliteration

tasmin śirasy abhihate sa jaṭāntargato bhaguḥ

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Als jener Kopf getroffen wurde, trat Bhagu — der im Innern der verfilzten Haarflechten verborgen gewesen war — aus dem Gewirr der Haare hervor.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that (place/time/condition)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शिरसि: on/in the head
• शिरसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अभिहते: when (it was) struck/when struck
• अभिहते: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-हन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

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

• जटा-अन्तर्गतः: gone/hidden inside the matted locks
• जटा-अन्तर्गतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तर्गत (from अन्तर् + गम्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past participle, used adjectivally)

• भगुः: Bhagu (proper name)
• भगुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhagu
• śiras (head)
• jaṭā (matted locks)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Outer marks of asceticism (like jaṭā) can conceal a person or intention, but decisive events expose what is hidden; ethical discernment should look beyond appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that when a head was struck, Bhagu—who had been concealed within the matted locks—came to be seen from inside the hair, indicating a sudden revelation caused by the blow.