Shloka 16

Bhīṣma–Śiśupāla-saṃvādaḥ

Bhishma and Shishupala’s exchange in the assembly

Devanagari script

गोघ्नः स्त्रीघ्नश्व सन्‌ भीष्म त्वद्वाक्याद्‌ यदि पूज्यते । एवंभूतश्न यो भीष्म कथं संस्तवमहति

Transliteration

goghnaḥ strīghnaś ca san bhīṣma tvadvākyād yadi pūjyate | evaṁbhūtaś ca yo bhīṣma kathaṁ saṁstavam arhati ||

Translation

Śiśupāla sprach: „O Bhīṣma, wenn—kraft deiner Worte—dieser Kṛṣṇa geehrt wird, obwohl er ein Kuhmörder und ein Frauenmörder ist, dann ist die Grenze deiner Unterscheidungskraft in Fragen des Dharma erreicht. Sage mir, Bhīṣma: Wie kann einer, der solche Verbrechen trägt, des Lobes würdig sein?“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'goghnaḥ', 'definition': 'cow-slayer

• one who kills cows (a grave transgression in dharma discourse)'}, {'term': 'strīghnaḥ', 'definition': 'woman-slayer

• one who kills women (a severe ethical violation)'}, {'term': 'ca', 'definition': 'and'}, {'term': 'san', 'definition': 'being

• though being (present participle of √as, ‘to be’)'}, {'term': 'bhīṣma', 'definition': 'Bhīṣma

• elder of the Kuru line, revered authority on dharma'}, {'term': 'tvad-vākyāt', 'definition': 'because of your statement/word

• on your authority (ablative)'}, {'term': 'yadi', 'definition': 'if'}, {'term': 'pūjyate', 'definition': 'is worshiped/honored'}, {'term': 'evaṁ-bhūtaḥ', 'definition': 'such as this

• of such a kind'}, {'term': 'yaḥ', 'definition': 'who

• the one who'}, {'term': 'katham', 'definition': 'how?'}, {'term': 'saṁstavam', 'definition': 'praise, eulogy, commendation'}, {'term': 'arhati', 'definition': 'deserves

Speaker

शिशुपाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śiśupāla
• Bhīṣma
• Kṛṣṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse dramatizes a dharma-debate: public honor should align with moral worth, and accusations of grave wrongdoing are used to challenge the legitimacy of praise and the authority of those endorsing it.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the assembly context surrounding royal honors, Śiśupāla attacks Bhīṣma’s endorsement of honoring Kṛṣṇa, alleging that Kṛṣṇa is guilty of heinous acts and therefore unfit for worship or eulogy.