Shloka 12

अध्याय २८१ — दानधर्मः, न्यायागतधनम्, ऋणत्रय-परिशोधनं च

Dāna ethics, lawful wealth, and settling obligations

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मवध्या महाघोरा रौद्रा लोकभयावहा । करालदशना भीमा विकृता कृष्णपिड्ूला

Transliteration

brahmavadhyā mahāghorā raudrā lokabhayāvahā | karāladāśanā bhīmā vikṛtā kṛṣṇapiṇḍūlā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Die Sünde des Brahmanenmordes (Brahmahatyā) ist über alle Maßen schrecklich—wild, furchterregend und ein Schrecken für die ganze Welt. Sie erscheint als eine monströse, gewaltige Gegenwart, mit klaffendem Rachen und grauenhaften Zähnen, von entstellter Gestalt, dunkel und geschwollen—ein warnendes Bild dafür, wie schwer das Dharma verletzt wird, wenn das Heilige geschändet wird.“

Word by Word

ब्रह्मवध्याthe Brahmin-slaying (sin/personified curse)

महाघोराvery terrible

रौद्राfierce, wrathful

लोकभयावहाbringing fear to the world

करालदशनाhaving gaping jaws/terrible teeth

भीमाdreadful

विकृताdeformed, distorted

कृष्णपिडूलाblack-limbed / having dark limbs

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

brahma-vadha (Brahmin-slaying as a sin)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the extreme gravity of brahma-vadha (Brahmin-slaying) in dharma discourse, portraying it as a terrifying force to emphasize that harming the sacred and learned order is a profound ethical rupture with far-reaching consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction during the Śānti Parva, describes the guilt of Brahmin-slaying in vivid, personified imagery—monstrous, fear-inducing, and deformed—so the listener grasps the moral horror and the need for restraint and expiation.