Shloka 11

शूरलक्षणवर्णनम् | Marks and Typologies of Martial Temperament

Devanagari script

गोधानिमीलिता: केचिन्मृदुप्रकृतयस्तथा । तरड्भगतिनिर्घोषास्ते नरा: पारयिष्णव:

Transliteration

godhā-nimīlitāḥ kecin mṛdu-prakṛtayas tathā | taraḍ-bhaga-ti-nirghoṣās te narāḥ pārayiṣṇavaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: Some men keep their eyes half-closed like an iguana, are gentle by nature, and move with a sound like the beat of a horse’s hooves. Such men are able to cross beyond the peril of battle.

Word by Word

• गोधा-निमीलिताः: having eyes closed like an iguana
• गोधा-निमीलिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोधानिमीलित (गोधा + निमीलित)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क- (प्रातिपदिक: किम्-सम्बन्धी सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मृदु-प्रकृतयः: those of gentle nature
• मृदु-प्रकृतयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृदुप्रकृति (मृदु + प्रकृति)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: and/also; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• तरड्भगति-निर्घोषाः: whose sound (is) like the rumbling/clang of swift movement
• तरड्भगति-निर्घोषाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरड्भगतिनिर्घोष (तरड्भगति + निर्घोष)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: those
• ते: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नराः: men
• नराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पारयिष्णवः: able to carry across; capable of crossing over
• पारयिष्णवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पारयिष्णु (√पॄ/पार् caus. पारयति + इष्णु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• godhā (iguana/lizard)
• horse (as implied by hoofbeat simile)
• battle/war (yuddha, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights that gentleness, restraint, and composed conduct can enable a person to endure and ‘cross over’ the dangers of conflict; moral steadiness is presented as a protective strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva, he describes a type of person—quiet, mild, and controlled—who can pass safely through the turmoil of battle, contrasting inner discipline with outward aggression.