Shloka 54

भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103

Devanagari script

यथा देवासुरे युद्धे शक्रशम्बरयो: पुरा

Transliteration

yathā devāsure yuddhe śakraśambarayoḥ purā

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Just as in ancient times, in the war between the gods and the asuras, there was the famed battle between Śakra and Śambara…”

Word by Word

• यथा: as, just as
• यथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• देवासुरे: in the (battle of) gods and asuras
• देवासुरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवासुर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• युद्धे: in battle
• युद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शक्रशम्बरयोः: of Śakra and Śambara
• शक्रशम्बरयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र-शम्बर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• पुरा: formerly, in olden times
• पुरा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śakra (Indra)
• Śambara
• Devas
• Asuras

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the present conflict through a mythic precedent: epic warfare is interpreted via the recurring moral polarity of deva and asura—order versus disorder—suggesting that battles are judged not only by force but by alignment with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya begins a simile, comparing the current battlefield events to an ancient devasura war, specifically invoking the well-known confrontation between Indra (Śakra) and the asura Śambara to heighten the scale and intensity of what he is describing.