Shloka 139

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

मृत्यु: क्षुरश्व॒ कृत्यश्व पक्षोडपक्षक्षयंकर: । मेघकालो महादंष्ट: संवर्तकबलाहक:

Transliteration

mṛtyuḥ kṣuraśvaḥ kṛtyaśvaḥ pakṣoḍapakṣakṣayaṃkaraḥ | meghakālo mahādaṃṣṭaḥ saṃvartakabalāhakaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: Death is like a razor-edged horse and a dread, duty-driven steed; it brings the ruin of both the winged and the wingless. It is the season of storm-clouds, great-fanged, like the world-ending cloud that gathers at dissolution—unstoppable, devouring, and impartial.

Word by Word

मृत्युःDeath

क्षुरश्वःone whose horses are like razors (razor-horsed)

कृत्यश्वःone whose horses are (like) kṛtyā/witchcraft (kṛtyā-horsed)

पक्षोडपक्षक्षयङ्करःcausing the destruction of wings and flight

मेघकालःthe time/season of clouds (rainy season)

महादंष्ट्रःhaving great fangs

संवर्तकबलाहकःthe Saṃvartaka cloud (world-ending cloud)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Mṛtyu (Death/Time)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Death (as Time) is irresistible and impartial, destroying all beings without distinction; therefore one should live with urgency and clarity, establishing oneself in dharma and right conduct before the inevitable end arrives.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma continues his discourse by portraying Death through powerful metaphors—razor-horse, storm-season, and the world-ending cloud—emphasizing the overwhelming, consuming nature of Kāla that overtakes every creature.