Shloka 85
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
अग्रय: प्रहरणानां च खड््गो माद्रवतीसुत । महेश्वरप्रणीतश्न पुराणे निश्चयं गत:
agrayaḥ praharaṇānāṃ ca khaḍgo mādravatīsuta | maheśvarapraṇītaś ca purāṇe niścayaṃ gataḥ || etāni caiva nāmāni purāṇe niścitāni vai |
Bhīṣma said: “O son of Mādravatī, the sword is foremost among weapons. It was first set in motion and employed by Maheśvara (Rudra), and the Purāṇas have decisively affirmed its pre-eminence. Indeed, these very names and designations are stated as fixed and authoritative in the Purāṇic tradition.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a hierarchy of weapons in which the sword is declared supreme, grounding that claim not merely in battlefield utility but in sacred precedent: Maheśvara (Rudra) is presented as the primordial exemplar, and the Purāṇas are cited as the authoritative source confirming this valuation.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during Śānti Parva, he addresses the listener as “son of Mādravatī” and explains that the sword’s superiority is an established Purāṇic conclusion, adding that the relevant names/designations have been fixed in the Purāṇic record.