Shloka 3

Devanagari script

सहस्रभुजभच्छीमान्‌ कार्तवीर्यो5भवत्‌ प्रभु: । अस्य लोकस्य सर्वस्य माहिष्मत्यां महाबल:

Transliteration

sahasrabhuja-bhacchīmān kārtavīryo 'bhavat prabhuḥ | asya lokasya sarvasya māhiṣmatyāṃ mahābalaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „In alter Zeit erhob sich ein Herrscher namens Kārtavīrya—strahlend und berühmt als der Tausendarme—der, von großer Kraft, von Māhiṣmatī aus regierte und die Herrschaft über diese ganze Welt innehatte.“

Word by Word

• {'sahasra': 'a thousand', 'bhuja': 'arm

• forearm (symbol of strength and capacity)', 'sahasrabhuja': 'thousand-armed (epithet indicating superhuman might)', 'bhacchīmān (≈ bhāśīmān/bhāsamāna)': 'radiant, shining, splendid (textual form varies by edition)', 'kārtavīryaḥ': 'Kārtavīrya (name of the king

• commonly Kārtavīrya Arjuna)', 'abhavat': 'became

• was', 'prabhuḥ': 'lord, sovereign, master', 'asya': 'of this', 'loka': 'world

• people', 'sarvasya': 'of all

• entire', 'māhiṣmatyām': 'in Māhiṣmatī (locative

• the capital city)', 'mahābalaḥ': 'of great strength

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kārtavīrya (Kārtavīrya Arjuna)
• Māhiṣmatī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse introduces an idealized image of sovereign power—radiance, immense strength, and universal dominion—implicitly pointing to the dharmic burden of such power: a ruler’s might is meaningful when it supports orderly governance and protection of the whole realm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma begins an ancient account by presenting Kārtavīrya as a mighty Haihaya ruler based in Māhiṣmatī, renowned as ‘thousand-armed,’ who exercised overarching authority across the world.