Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 163 Shloka 18 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मसृष्टा हव्यभुज: कपान्‌ हत्वा सनातना: | नभसीव यथाभ्राणि व्यराजन्त नराधिप,नरेश्वर! ब्राह्मणोंके छोड़े हुए सनातन अग्निदेव उन कपोंका संहार करके आकाशमें बादलोंके समान प्रकाशित होने लगे

Transliteration

brahmasṛṣṭā havyabhujaḥ kapān hatvā sanātanāḥ | nabhasīva yathābhrāṇi vyarājanta narādhipa ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „O König! Jene ewigen Feuergötter, aus Brahmā hervorgegangen und die Opfergaben verzehrend, nachdem sie die Kapās vernichtet hatten, leuchteten am Himmel—wie Wolken, die im Firmament erglänzen.“

Word by Word

ब्रह्मसृष्टाःcreated by Brahmā

हव्यभुजःoblation-eaters (fires/Agni-deities)

कपान्the Kapa-s (a class of beings)

हत्वाhaving slain/destroyed

सनातनाःeternal, primeval

नभसिin the sky

इवlike, as

यथाjust as

अभ्राणिclouds

विराजन्तेshone, appeared splendid

नराधिपO lord of men (king)

नरेश्वरO ruler of men

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Brahmā

Agni (havyabhujaḥ; sacrificial fire-gods)

Kapas

Sky (nabhas)

Clouds (abhrāṇi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the sanctity and cosmic authority of sacrificial fire: as a Brahmā-born, eternal power that consumes offerings and removes hostile or obstructive forces, it restores radiance and order—suggesting that dharmic rites and purity have transformative, world-ordering effects.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes the eternal fire-gods (sacrificial fires) destroying a group called the Kapas; after this act, the fires appear brilliantly in the sky, compared to clouds shining in the heavens, addressing the king directly.