Shloka 15

Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse

Devanagari script

समाश्च॒स्तस्ततो राम: क्रोधामर्षसमन्वित: । प्रादुश्चके तदा ब्राह्में परमास्त्र महाव्रत:

Transliteration

samāś ca stas tato rāmaḥ krodhāmarṣa-samanvitaḥ | prāduścakre tadā brāhme paramāstraṃ mahāvrataḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: Then Rāma (Paraśurāma), filled with wrath and wounded pride, revealed and set in motion the supreme Brahmā-weapon. In ethical terms, the passage highlights how anger and affront can drive even a great vow-keeper toward extreme measures, escalating conflict beyond restraint.

Word by Word

• समाः: equal (ones)
• समाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अस्तः: setting (sunset); disappearance
• अस्तः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• रामः: Rama (Parashurama)
• रामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• क्रोधामर्षसमन्वितः: endowed with anger and indignation
• क्रोधामर्षसमन्वितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समन्वित (कृदन्त, सम्+अन्वि/इ → समन्वित)
• Form: पुंल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रादुश्चके: manifested; appeared; brought forth
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रादुस् + चक् (धातु: चक्/चके, आत्मनेपद; प्रादुस्-उपसर्गसदृश)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• तदा: at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• ब्रह्मे: in/with Brahma (i.e., in the Brahma-weapon context)
• ब्रह्मे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• परमास्त्रम्: the supreme weapon
• परमास्त्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + अस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• महाव्रतः: the great-vowed (one)
• महाव्रतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाव्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Brahmāstra (Brahmā-weapon)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse cautions that anger (krodha) and affronted pride (amarṣa) can push even disciplined, vow-bound figures toward disproportionate force, turning a dispute into a dangerous escalation that threatens dharmic restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that Paraśurāma, provoked and enraged, proceeds to manifest and employ the supreme Brahmā-weapon (brahmāstra), signaling a dramatic intensification of the confrontation.