Shloka 18
Devanagari script
ततो रुधिरतर्षेण बलिना शरभो<न्वित:
Transliteration
tato rudhiratarṣeṇa balinā śarabho'nvitaḥ
Translation
Dann, von Blutdurst getrieben, schritt der Mächtige—mit der Natur eines Śarabha begabt—voran, seine Kraft geschärft durch ein gewaltsames Verlangen.
Word by Word
ततःthen, thereafter
ततः:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
FormAvyaya (indeclinable)
रुधिरतर्षेणby/with blood-thirst
रुधिरतर्षेण:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootरुधिरतर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular
बलिनाby the strong (one)
बलिना:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootबलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Singular
शरभःthe Śarabha (a mythical beast)
शरभः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशरभ (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अन्वितःendowed with, possessed of
अन्वितः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअन्वि + क्त (अन्वित) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaŚ
śarabhaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Power becomes ethically dangerous when fueled by craving—here symbolized as a “thirst for blood.” Bhīṣma’s broader instruction in Śānti Parva repeatedly stresses restraint (dama) and the governance of impulses as essential to dharma, especially for rulers and the strong.
Bhīṣma describes a figure whose strength is intensified by violent desire, likened to or accompanied by the fierce śarabha. The phrase functions as a vivid narrative image of escalating aggression within an instructive discourse.