Shloka 12

अध्याय २८१ — दानधर्मः, न्यायागतधनम्, ऋणत्रय-परिशोधनं च

Dāna ethics, lawful wealth, and settling obligations

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मवध्या महाघोरा रौद्रा लोकभयावहा । करालदशना भीमा विकृता कृष्णपिड्ूला

Transliteration

brahmavadhyā mahāghorā raudrā lokabhayāvahā | karāladāśanā bhīmā vikṛtā kṛṣṇapiṇḍūlā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «El pecado de matar a un brahmán (Brahmahatyā) es sumamente espantoso: feroz, aterrador y causa de temor para el mundo entero. Se manifiesta como una presencia monstruosa e imponente, con dientes terribles y la boca abierta, de figura deformada, oscura e hinchada; una imagen que advierte cuán gravemente se viola el dharma cuando se hiere lo sagrado».

Word by Word

ब्रह्मवध्याthe Brahmin-slaying (sin/personified curse)

महाघोराvery terrible

रौद्राfierce, wrathful

लोकभयावहाbringing fear to the world

करालदशनाhaving gaping jaws/terrible teeth

भीमाdreadful

विकृताdeformed, distorted

कृष्णपिडूलाblack-limbed / having dark limbs

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

brahma-vadha (Brahmin-slaying as a sin)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the extreme gravity of brahma-vadha (Brahmin-slaying) in dharma discourse, portraying it as a terrifying force to emphasize that harming the sacred and learned order is a profound ethical rupture with far-reaching consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction during the Śānti Parva, describes the guilt of Brahmin-slaying in vivid, personified imagery—monstrous, fear-inducing, and deformed—so the listener grasps the moral horror and the need for restraint and expiation.