Shloka 1

Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard

Devanagari script

[दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६१ श्लोक हैं।] ऑपन--माज छा अि>-आकऋाज द्ादर्शाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: द्रोणाचार्यका अश्वत्थामाको अशुभ शकुनोंकी सूचना देते हुए उसे भीष्मकी रक्षाके लिये धृष्टद्युम्नसे युद्ध करनेका आदेश देना संजय उवाच अथ वीरो महेष्वासो मत्तवारणविक्रम: । समादाय महतच्चापं मत्तवारणवारणम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | atha vīro maheṣvāso mattavāraṇavikramaḥ | samādāya mahac cāpaṃ mattavāraṇavāraṇam ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Da nahm jener heldenhafte Krieger, ein großer Bogenschütze, dessen Ansturm dem eines berauschten Elefanten glich, seinen mächtigen Bogen zur Hand—ein Gerät, das selbst einen rasenden Elefanten zu hemmen vermag. Die Szene kündet vom Erstarken des Entschlusses auf dem Schlachtfeld: Kraft wird bewusst gesammelt, um die Pflicht zu erfüllen, den Heerführer und die eigene Seite zu schützen, während zugleich das moralische Gewicht der bevorstehenden Gewalt zunimmt.

Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then

• thereupon (narrative transition)', 'vīraḥ': 'hero

• valiant warrior', 'maheṣvāsaḥ': 'great archer (lit. ‘one with a great bow’)', 'mattavāraṇa': 'an intoxicated/maddened elephant', 'vikramaḥ': 'stride

• forceful advance', 'samādāya': 'having taken up

• having grasped', 'mahat': 'great

• mighty', 'cāpaṃ': 'bow', 'vāraṇam': 'one that restrains/checks

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (cāpa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds deliberate readiness and controlled power: martial strength is not mere rage but an instrument taken up with purpose, typically framed in the epic as protection of one’s side and fulfillment of kṣatriya-duty—yet it also heightens the ethical gravity of choosing violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a formidable archer stepping forward and taking up a massive bow, likening his momentum to a maddened elephant and the bow to something that can restrain such force—an image of imminent, forceful engagement on the battlefield.