Shloka 22

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः

Devanagari script

कृष्ण भीष्म: सुसंरब्ध: सहित: सर्वपार्थिवै: | क्षपयिष्यति नो नूनं यादृशो5स्य पराक्रम:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kṛṣṇa bhīṣmaḥ susaṃrabdhaḥ sahitaḥ sarvapārthivaiḥ | kṣapayīṣyati no nūnaṃ yādṛśo 'sya parākramaḥ ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O Krishna, Bhishma—fiercely enraged and joined by all the kings on his side—will surely bring about our destruction. Such is the measure of his prowess that it seems to point to this outcome.”

Word by Word

• कृष्ण: O Krishna
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुसंरब्धः: highly enraged / greatly agitated
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुसंरब्ध (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सहितः: accompanied (together)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वपार्थिवैः: with all the kings
• सर्वपार्थिवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वपार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• क्षपयिष्यति: will destroy / will cause to perish
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षप् (धातु) / क्षपय् (णिच्-धातु)
• Form: Simple Future (लृट्), 3rd, Singular

• नः: us
• नः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Accusative, Plural

• नूनम्: surely / certainly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)

• यादृशः: such as / of what kind
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यादृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्य: of him / his
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• पराक्रमः: valor / prowess
• पराक्रमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पराक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Krishna
• Bhishma
• kings (pārthivas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how perception of overwhelming power can shape ethical and strategic judgment in war: fear arises not only from events but from assessing an opponent’s parākrama (prowess). It implicitly warns that anger (susaṃrabdha) combined with collective force (sarvapārthivaiḥ) can become a destructive engine, urging steadiness and discernment amid intimidation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Krishna that Bhishma, inflamed with wrath and supported by many allied kings, appears poised to devastate the Pandava side. The statement functions as a foreboding assessment of Bhishma’s battlefield dominance and the danger it poses.