Shloka 12

Devanagari script

पुरा हि श्रुतमेतत्‌ ते वसुभि: कथितं मया । गज्जायास्तीरमाश्रित्य हते शान्तनवे नूप,“पहलेकी बात है, एक दिन मैं गंगाजीके तटपर गयी थी। नरेश्वर! वहाँ शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मजीके मारे जानेके बाद वसुओंने गंगातटपर आकर आपके सम्बन्धमें जो यह बात कही थी, उसे मैंने अपने कानों सुना था

Transliteration

purā hi śrutam etat te vasubhiḥ kathitaṃ mayā | gaṅgāyās tīram āśritya hate śāntanave nūpam ||

Translation

Arjuna sprach: „O König, einst hörte ich genau diese Sache—von den Vasus ausgesprochen und von mir dir berichtet—als sie nach dem Fall Bhīṣmas, des Sohnes Śāntanus, an das Ufer der Gaṅgā kamen und in Bezug auf dich sprachen. Ich hörte es mit eigenen Ohren.“

Word by Word

पुराformerly, once

हिindeed, for

श्रुतम्heard (thing), what was heard

एतत्this

तेto you / of you

वसुभिःby the Vasus

कथितम्said, narrated (thing)

मयाby me

गङ्गायाःof the Ganga

तीरम्bank, shore

आश्रित्यhaving resorted to, taking refuge at

हतेwhen (he was) slain

शान्तनवेto Shantanu (or: for Shantanu)

नृपO king

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Vasus

Gaṅgā (River Ganges)

Bhīṣma (Śāntanu-nandana / Śāntanava)

Śāntanu

King (addressed as nṛpa; likely Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

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 emphasizes the ethical weight of reliable testimony: Arjuna grounds his statement in direct hearing and in the words of authoritative beings (the Vasus), suggesting that counsel to a king should rest on trustworthy sources and witnessed tradition, especially in the morally complex aftermath of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna begins recounting an earlier episode: after Bhīṣma (Śāntanu’s son) had fallen, the Vasus came to the bank of the Gaṅgā and spoke about a matter connected with the king. Arjuna states he personally heard it and had conveyed it to the king.