Shloka 42

अग्नीषोमोत्पत्तिः

Agni–Soma Origin and the Brahmāgnīṣomīya Doctrine

Devanagari script

संहता येन चाविद्धा भवन्ति नदतां नदा: । रक्षणार्थाय सम्भूता मेघत्वमुपयान्ति च,“जिसके द्वारा इधर-उधर ले जाये गये अनेक प्रकारके महामेघ घटा बाँधकर जल बरसाना आरम्भ करते हैं, घटाके रूपमें घनीभूत होनेपर भी जिसकी प्रेरणासे सारे बादल फट जाते हैं, फिर वे वेणुनादके समान शब्द करनेके कारण “नद” कहलाते हैं तथा प्राणियोंकी रक्षाके लिये पुन: जलका संग्रह करके घनीभूत हो जाते हैं, जो वायु देवताओंके आकाश शभमार्गसे जानेवाले विमानोंको स्वयं ही वहन करता है, वह पर्वतोंका मान मर्दन करनेवाला चतुर्थ वायु 'संवह' नामसे प्रसिद्ध है

Transliteration

saṃhatā yena cāviddhā bhavanti nadatāṃ nadāḥ | rakṣaṇārthāya sambhūtā meghatvam upayānti ca ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “That wind by which the clouds—though driven and scattered—are gathered into compact masses and made to roar; which, for the protection of living beings, causes them to assume the state of cloud again (collecting and holding water for rain).”

Word by Word

संहताcompacted, gathered together

येनby which

चand

आविद्धाdriven about, tossed, scattered

भवन्तिbecome, come to be

नदताम्of the roaring (ones)

नदाःroarers (clouds, ‘nadas’)

रक्षणार्थायfor the purpose of protection

सम्भूताःarisen, produced

मेघत्वम्the state of being a cloud, cloud-form

उपयान्तिattain, come to

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

megha (clouds)

vāyu (wind)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic view of nature: forces like wind function for loka-saṃgraha (the welfare and protection of beings) by gathering clouds so that water can be stored and released as rain in due course.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s discourse (Shanti Parva), he describes a particular function of wind—driving scattered clouds together so they thunder and become clouds again for the purpose of protecting life through rainfall and water-supply.