Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

अपसय् ग्रहाश्चक्रुरलक्ष्माणं दिवाकरम्‌ | अवाक्शिराश्न भगवानुपातिष्ठत चन्द्रमा:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | apasavyaṃ grahāś cakrur alakṣmāṇaṃ divākaram | avākśirāś ca bhagavān upātiṣṭhata candramāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The planets moved in a leftward (inauspicious) course around the Sun, marking him with ominous signs; and the revered Moon rose with its horns turned downward—portents that the moral order was being disturbed and that the coming slaughter would be grievous and ill-starred.

Word by Word

• अपसव्यं: leftward / counterclockwise
• अपसव्यं: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपसव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ग्रहाः: planets (grahas)
• ग्रहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चक्रुः: did / made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Plural

• अलक्ष्माणम्: inauspicious / of ill-omen
• अलक्ष्माणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दिवाकरम्: the Sun
• दिवाकरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अवाक्शिराः: with head bent down (having the head downward)
• अवाक्शिराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवाक्शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भगवान्: the venerable / divine
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उपातिष्ठत: stood near / appeared / rose
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-स्था (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular

• चन्द्रमाः: the Moon
• चन्द्रमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्रमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• grahāḥ (planets)
• Divākara (Sun)
• Candramā (Moon)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames war not merely as a political event but as a rupture in dharma reflected in nature: ominous celestial signs symbolize ethical disorder and warn that adharma-driven conflict brings widespread suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports portents seen in the sky: the planets take an inauspicious leftward course around the Sun, and the Moon rises with its horns turned downward—traditional indicators of impending calamity on the battlefield.