Shloka 14

Bhīṣma–Jāmadagnya-saṃvādaḥ

Bhishma’s account of the encounter with Rāma Jāmadagnya

Devanagari script

रथ: शरैमें निचितः सर्वतो&भूत्‌ तथा वाहा: सारथिश्वैव राजन्‌ । युगं रथेषां च तथैव चक्रे तथैवाक्ष: शरकृत्तोडथ भग्न:,राजन! मेरा रथ चारों ओरसे उनके बाणोंद्वारा व्याप्त हो रहा था। घोड़ों और सारथिकी भी यही दशा थी। युग तथा ईषादण्डको भी उन्होंने उसी प्रकार बाणविद्धु कर रखा था और रथका धुरा उनके बाणोंसे कटकर टूक-टूक हो गया था

Transliteration

rathaḥ śaraiḥ me nicitaḥ sarvato 'bhūt tathā vāhāḥ sārathiś caiva rājan | yugaṃ ratheṣāṃ ca tathaiva cakre tathaivākṣaḥ śarakṛttaḥ tato 'tha bhagnaḥ, rājan ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O König, mein Wagen war ringsum vollständig mit Pfeilen bedeckt; ebenso erging es den Rossen und dem Wagenlenker. Joch und Beschläge, ja selbst die Räder, wurden gleichermaßen durchbohrt; und dann zerbrach die Achse, von Pfeilen durchtrennt, in Stücke. So wurde ich mitten im Kampf Zeuge der überwältigenden Wucht dieses Angriffs.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'rathaḥ', 'definition': 'chariot'}, {'term': 'śaraiḥ', 'definition': 'with arrows (instrumental plural of śara)'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'my (genitive/enclitic pronoun)'}, {'term': 'nicitaḥ', 'definition': 'heaped up, piled, covered densely'}, {'term': 'sarvataḥ', 'definition': 'on all sides, everywhere'}, {'term': 'abhūt', 'definition': 'became, was'}, {'term': 'vāhāḥ', 'definition': 'draught animals

• here: horses'}, {'term': 'sārathiḥ', 'definition': 'charioteer'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O King (vocative)'}, {'term': 'yugam', 'definition': 'yoke (of a chariot)'}, {'term': 'cakre', 'definition': 'wheel(s) (locative/dual sense in context)'}, {'term': 'akṣaḥ', 'definition': 'axle'}, {'term': 'śarakṛttaḥ', 'definition': 'cut by arrows (śara + kṛtta)'}, {'term': 'bhagnaḥ', 'definition': 'broken, shattered'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• King (rājan)
• chariot (ratha)
• arrows (śara)
• horses (vāha)
• charioteer (sārathi)
• yoke (yuga)
• wheels (cakra)
• axle (akṣa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of external supports in conflict—chariot, horses, and equipment can be destroyed instantly—implying that a warrior’s steadiness and duty must rest on inner resolve and dharma rather than on material protections.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes to the king how his chariot and its components—horses, charioteer, yoke, wheels, and axle—were overwhelmed and damaged by a storm of arrows, emphasizing the intensity and effectiveness of the opponent’s attack.