Shloka 68

Devanagari script

ततः सेनापति:ः क्रुद्धों भीष्मं बहुभिरायसै:

Transliteration

tataḥ senāpatiḥ kruddho bhīṣmaṃ bahubhir āyasaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then the commander, inflamed with anger, assailed Bhīṣma with many iron weapons—an image of battlefield fury, where personal wrath drives the violence to rise even against a revered elder-warrior.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• सेनापतिः: the commander (of the army)
• सेनापतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनापति
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• क्रुद्धः: angry
• क्रुद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• भीष्मम्: Bhishma
• भीष्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, accusative, singular

• बहुभिः: with many
• बहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, instrumental, plural

• आयसैः: iron (weapons/shafts)
• आयसैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयस
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, instrumental, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• senāpati (commander)
• Bhīṣma
• āyasa (iron weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can overtake judgment even in a dharma-framed war, turning combat into a personal, escalating assault—an ethical warning about the corrosive power of wrath in leadership and conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that an enraged commander attacks Bhīṣma with numerous iron weapons, intensifying the battle action around Bhīṣma, the central Kuru warrior.