Shloka 29

भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103

Devanagari script

बहवश्न महाराज तस्य नादेन भीषिता: । प्रियान्‌ प्राणान्‌ परित्यज्य निपेतुर्धरणीतले

Transliteration

bahavaś ca mahārāja tasya nādena bhīṣitāḥ | priyān prāṇān parityajya nipetur dharaṇītale ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O König, viele Krieger, vom donnergleichen Brüllen erschreckt, gaben ihr teures Leben preis und stürzten zu Boden.

Word by Word

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/its
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• नादेन: by the sound/roar
• नादेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाद
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• भीषिताः: frightened/terrified
• भीषिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीषित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रियान्: dear
• प्रियान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• प्राणान्: lives/breaths
• प्राणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• निपेतुः: fell down
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-पत्
• Form: Liṭ (Perfect), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• धरणीतले: on the surface of the earth/ground
• धरणीतले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणीतल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')
• dharaṇī (earth/ground)
• nāda (roar/sound)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of life amid war: even the most cherished possession—one’s prāṇa (life)—can be lost in an instant when fear and overwhelming force arise. It underscores the ethical gravity of battle, where violence and terror rapidly strip beings of agency and life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many combatants, struck with terror by a powerful roar (nāda) coming from a formidable figure or event on the battlefield, collapse and die—falling to the earth after ‘giving up’ their lives.