Shloka 88

Devanagari script

ते सहाया भविष्यन्ति सुरकार्ये मम द्विज । ततो रक्ष:पतिं घोरं पुलस्त्यकुलपांसनम्‌

Transliteration

te sahāyā bhaviṣyanti surakārye mama dvija | tato rakṣaḥpatiṃ ghoraṃ pulastyakulapāṃsanam ||

Translation

O brāhmaṇa, they will become my allies in the work of the gods. Thereafter I shall confront the dreadful lord of the Rākṣasas—one who is a disgrace to the lineage of Pulastya.

Word by Word

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सहायाः: helpers, allies
• सहायाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहाय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भविष्यन्ति: will be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सुरकार्ये: in the work of the gods
• सुरकार्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरकार्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मम: of me, my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• रक्षःपतिम्: the lord of the Rakṣasas
• रक्षःपतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षःपति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• घोरम्: terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पुलस्त्यकुलपांसनम्: the disgrace (stain) of Pulastya's lineage
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलस्त्यकुलपांसन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

(भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• dvija (a brāhmaṇa addressee)
• suras (devas/gods)
• rakṣaḥpati (lord of the Rākṣasas)
• Pulastya (sage; progenitor associated with Rākṣasa lineages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Aid given to righteous, cosmic purposes (surakārya) is presented as worthy and dharmic, while a powerful wrongdoer is morally judged not by strength but by conduct—hence being called a “disgrace” to an ancestral line.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a brāhmaṇa and states that certain beings will become his allies in carrying out a divine task; then he declares his intention to face a fearsome lord of the Rākṣasas, denouncing him as a blot on Pulastya’s lineage.