Shloka 42

अग्नीषोमोत्पत्तिः

Agni–Soma Origin and the Brahmāgnīṣomīya Doctrine

Devanagari script

संहता येन चाविद्धा भवन्ति नदतां नदा: । रक्षणार्थाय सम्भूता मेघत्वमुपयान्ति च

Transliteration

saṃhatā yena cāviddhā bhavanti nadatāṃ nadāḥ | rakṣaṇārthāya sambhūtā meghatvam upayānti ca ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Jener Wind, durch den die Wolken—obgleich getrieben und zerstreut—zu dichten Massen gesammelt und zum Dröhnen gebracht werden; und der, zum Schutz der Lebewesen, bewirkt, dass sie wieder den Zustand der Wolke annehmen (Wasser sammeln und für den Regen zurückhalten).“

Word by Word

• संहता: compacted, gathered together
• संहता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संहत (सम्+हन् धातु से क्त; ‘संहत’)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आविद्धा: driven about, tossed, scattered
• आविद्धा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आविद्ध (आ+व्यध् धातु से क्त; ‘आविद्ध’)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• भवन्ति: become, come to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• नदताम्: of the roaring (ones)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• नदाः: roarers (clouds, ‘nadas’)
• नदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• रक्षणार्थाय: for the purpose of protection
• रक्षणार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षणार्थ (रक्षण + अर्थ)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• सम्भूताः: arisen, produced
• सम्भूताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्भूत (सम्+भू धातु से क्त; ‘सम्भूत’)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मेघत्वम्: the state of being a cloud, cloud-form
• मेघत्वम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघत्व (मेघ + त्व)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• उपयान्ति: attain, come to
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप+या
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• megha (clouds)
• vāyu (wind)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic view of nature: forces like wind function for loka-saṃgraha (the welfare and protection of beings) by gathering clouds so that water can be stored and released as rain in due course.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s discourse (Shanti Parva), he describes a particular function of wind—driving scattered clouds together so they thunder and become clouds again for the purpose of protecting life through rainfall and water-supply.