Shloka 12

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिरश्न गाड़ेयं विदुरश्च महामतिः । छादयामासतुरु भी क्षौमैर्माल्यैश्व कौरवम्‌,राजा युधिष्ठिर और परम बुद्धिमान्‌ विदुर इन दोनोंने रेशमी वस्त्रों और मालाओंसे कुरुनन्दन गंगापुत्र भीष्मको आच्छादित किया और चितापर सुलाया

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca | Yudhiṣṭhiraś ca Gāṅgeyaṃ Viduraś ca mahāmatiḥ | Chādayām āsatur ubhau kṣaumair mālyaiś ca Kauravam |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: König Yudhiṣṭhira und der überaus weise Vidura bedeckten gemeinsam Bhīṣma Gāṅgeya—den Helden der Kuru—mit feinen Leinengewändern und Blumengirlanden und betteten ihn ehrfürchtig auf den Scheiterhaufen, ihm die gebührende Ehre und Dankbarkeit gemäß dem Dharma erweisend.

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhishthira

चand

गाङ्गेयम्Ganga's son (Bhishma)

विदुरःVidura

चand

महामतिःgreat-minded, very wise

छादयामासतुःthey two covered

भीष्मम्Bhishma

क्षौमैःwith linen/silken cloths

माल्यैःwith garlands

चand

कौरवम्the Kuru prince (Bhishma)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Vidura

Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma)

Kaurava (Kuru lineage)

kṣauma (linen cloth)

mālya (garlands)

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?

Dharma is shown through honoring and serving elders and the worthy, especially at life’s end. Even after a devastating war, Yudhiṣṭhira and Vidura uphold ethical duty by performing respectful rites for Bhīṣma, expressing gratitude and reverence rather than resentment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira and Vidura together drape Bhīṣma (Gāṅgeya), the Kuru hero, with fine linen cloth and garlands—preparing and honoring him in the context of his final rites on the funeral pyre.