Shloka 6

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः

Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

नर्दित्वा सुमहानादं निर्घातमिव राक्षस:

Transliteration

narditvā sumahānādaṃ nirghātam iva rākṣasaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having roared with a very great cry—like the crashing thunder of a violent blow—a rākṣasa-like warrior filled the field with terror.

Word by Word

• नर्दित्वा: having roared
• नर्दित्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: नर्द् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (अव्ययभाव/ल्यप्), कर्तरि, absolutive (having done), no person/number

• सुमहानादम्: a very great sound/roar
• सुमहानादम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमहानाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• निर्घातम्: a crash, a thunderclap
• निर्घातम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्घात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• राक्षसः: the demon (rakshasa)
• राक्षसः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• राक्षस (rākṣasa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, terror and intimidation can be deliberately employed as instruments of power. By comparing the roar to a rākṣasa and to a thunderous crash, the narrative implicitly contrasts human restraint with demonic ferocity, reminding the listener that ethical self-control is most endangered when violence becomes exhilarating.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant (or force) roaring loudly on the battlefield. The sound is portrayed as immense and thunder-like, and the comparison to a rākṣasa conveys the frightening, overwhelming atmosphere as the clash intensifies.