Shloka 56

Devanagari script

महानृषिश्व कपिलस्तथर्षिस्ताडकायन: । तथैव चोपगहनस्तथर्षिश्वासुरायण:

Transliteration

mahānarṣiś ca kapilas tatharṣis tāḍakāyanaḥ | tathaiva copagahanas tatharṣiś cāsurāyaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “There was the great sage Kapila; likewise the sage Tāḍakāyana; and also Upagahana; and the sage Asurāyaṇa.”

Word by Word

महानृषिःthe great sage

चand

कपिलःKapila

तथाthus/likewise

ऋषिःthe sage

ताडकायनःTāḍakāyana

तथाlikewise

एवindeed/just

चand

उपगहनःUpagahana

तथाlikewise

ऋषिःthe sage

चand

आसुरायणःĀsurāyaṇa

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Kapila

Tāḍakāyana

Upagahana

Asurāyaṇa

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 reinforces dharma-teaching by invoking the remembered authority of exemplary sages; their names function as ethical and scriptural credentials within Bhīṣma’s instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues enumerating revered ṛṣis—Kapila, Tāḍakāyana, Upagahana, and Asurāyaṇa—within a broader discourse where precedents and sage-traditions are cited to ground guidance on righteous conduct.