Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मसृष्टा हव्यभुज: कपान्‌ हत्वा सनातना: | नभसीव यथाभ्राणि व्यराजन्त नराधिप,नरेश्वर! ब्राह्मणोंके छोड़े हुए सनातन अग्निदेव उन कपोंका संहार करके आकाशमें बादलोंके समान प्रकाशित होने लगे

Transliteration

brahmasṛṣṭā havyabhujaḥ kapān hatvā sanātanāḥ | nabhasīva yathābhrāṇi vyarājanta narādhipa ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Those eternal fire-gods, born of Brahmā and eaters of oblations, having destroyed the Kapas, then shone in the sky—like clouds gleaming in the firmament, O king.”

Word by Word

ब्रह्मसृष्टाःcreated by Brahmā

हव्यभुजःoblation-eaters (fires/Agni-deities)

कपान्the Kapa-s (a class of beings)

हत्वाhaving slain/destroyed

सनातनाःeternal, primeval

नभसिin the sky

इवlike, as

यथाjust as

अभ्राणिclouds

विराजन्तेshone, appeared splendid

नराधिपO lord of men (king)

नरेश्वरO ruler of men

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Brahmā

Agni (havyabhujaḥ; sacrificial fire-gods)

Kapas

Sky (nabhas)

Clouds (abhrāṇi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the sanctity and cosmic authority of sacrificial fire: as a Brahmā-born, eternal power that consumes offerings and removes hostile or obstructive forces, it restores radiance and order—suggesting that dharmic rites and purity have transformative, world-ordering effects.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes the eternal fire-gods (sacrificial fires) destroying a group called the Kapas; after this act, the fires appear brilliantly in the sky, compared to clouds shining in the heavens, addressing the king directly.