Shloka 1

Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard

Devanagari script

[दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६१ श्लोक हैं।] ऑपन--माज छा अि>-आकऋाज द्ादर्शाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: द्रोणाचार्यका अश्वत्थामाको अशुभ शकुनोंकी सूचना देते हुए उसे भीष्मकी रक्षाके लिये धृष्टद्युम्नसे युद्ध करनेका आदेश देना संजय उवाच अथ वीरो महेष्वासो मत्तवारणविक्रम: । समादाय महतच्चापं मत्तवारणवारणम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | atha vīro maheṣvāso mattavāraṇavikramaḥ | samādāya mahac cāpaṃ mattavāraṇavāraṇam ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: Then that heroic warrior, a great archer whose onrush was like that of an intoxicated elephant, took up his mighty bow—an instrument capable of checking even a maddened elephant. The scene signals the hardening of resolve on the battlefield: strength is being deliberately marshalled for a duty understood as protection of one’s commander and side, even as it intensifies the moral weight of violence about to unfold.

Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then

• thereupon (narrative transition)', 'vīraḥ': 'hero

• valiant warrior', 'maheṣvāsaḥ': 'great archer (lit. ‘one with a great bow’)', 'mattavāraṇa': 'an intoxicated/maddened elephant', 'vikramaḥ': 'stride

• forceful advance', 'samādāya': 'having taken up

• having grasped', 'mahat': 'great

• mighty', 'cāpaṃ': 'bow', 'vāraṇam': 'one that restrains/checks

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (cāpa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds deliberate readiness and controlled power: martial strength is not mere rage but an instrument taken up with purpose, typically framed in the epic as protection of one’s side and fulfillment of kṣatriya-duty—yet it also heightens the ethical gravity of choosing violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a formidable archer stepping forward and taking up a massive bow, likening his momentum to a maddened elephant and the bow to something that can restrain such force—an image of imminent, forceful engagement on the battlefield.