Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स त्वं पश्य महाभाग योगेश्वर महारथम्‌ । भीष्म॑ यः: शमयेत्‌ संख्ये दावाग्निंजलदो यथा,“महाभाग योगेश्वर! आप ऐसे किसी महारथीको ढूँढ निकालिये, जो संग्रामभूमिमें भीष्मको उसी प्रकार शान्त कर दे, जैसे बादल दावानलको बुझा देता है

Transliteration

sa tvaṁ paśya mahābhāga yogeśvara mahāratham | bhīṣmaṁ yaḥ śamayet saṅkhye dāvāgniṁ jalado yathā ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Darum, o Hochbegnadeter, o Herr des Yoga, blicke aus und erkenne jenen großen Wagenkämpfer, der auf dem Schlachtfeld Bhishma zur Ruhe bringen kann, wie eine Regenwolke ein wütendes Waldfeuer löscht.“

Word by Word

सःhe/that (one)

त्वम्you

पश्यsee; look for; find

महाभागO greatly fortunate one

योगेश्वरO lord of yoga

महारथम्a great chariot-warrior

भीष्मम्Bhishma

यःwho

शमयेत्would pacify; could subdue

संख्येin battle

दावाग्निम्a forest-fire

जलदःa cloud

यथाas; just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Bhishma

Yogeshvara (epithet, typically Krishna)

Mahāratha (unspecified great warrior)

Jalada (rain-cloud)

Dāvāgni (forest fire)

Saṅkhya (battlefield 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 highlights the ethical and strategic necessity of restraint in war: when a formidable force becomes unstoppable, leadership must seek a means to neutralize it with minimal chaos—symbolized by the cooling, quenching power of a rain-cloud over a forest fire.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, reporting the war situation, urges the addressed hero (called “Mahābhāga” and “Yogeśvara”) to identify a champion capable of subduing Bhishma in battle, comparing Bhishma’s destructive prowess to a wildfire and the needed counterforce to a rain-cloud.