Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अपर बछ। हक २ >> चतु:पञ्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्ण और भीष्मजीकी बातचीत जनमेजय उवाच धर्मात्मनि महावीर्ये सत्यसंधे जितात्मनि । देवव्रते महाभागे शरतल्पगते<च्युते,जनमेजयने पूछा--महामुने! धर्मात्मा, महापराक्रमी, सत्यप्रतिज्ञ, जितात्मा, धर्मसे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले महाभाग शान्तनुनन्दन गड्जाकुमार पुरुषसिंह देवव्रत भीष्म जब वीरशय्यापर सो रहे थे और पाण्डव उनकी सेवामें आकर उपस्थित हो गये थे, उस समय वीर पुरुषोंक उस समागमके अवसरपर, जब कि उभयपक्षकी सम्पूर्ण सेनाएँ मारी जा चुकी थीं, कौन-कौनसी बातें हुईं? यह मुझे बतानेकी कृपा करें

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca | dharmātmani mahāvīrye satyasaṃdhe jitātmani | devavrate mahābhāge śaratālpagate 'cyute |

Translation

Janamejaya dijo: «Oh gran sabio, cuando el noble Devavrata Bhīṣma—justo de espíritu, de inmenso valor, firme en la verdad, dueño de sí y sin apartarse jamás del dharma—yacía sobre su lecho de flechas, y los Pāṇḍavas acudieron y se presentaron ante él para servirle, ¿qué palabras se dijeron en aquella ocasión trascendental, cuando los ejércitos de ambos bandos habían sido enteramente destruidos? Te ruego que me lo cuentes».

Word by Word

जनमेजयःJanamejaya

उवाचsaid

धर्मात्मनिin/with regard to the righteous-souled one

महावीर्येin/with regard to the great-in-valour one

सत्यसन्धेin/with regard to the truth-bound one

जितात्मनिin/with regard to the self-controlled one

देवव्रतेin/with regard to Devavrata (Bhishma)

महाभागेin/with regard to the greatly fortunate one

शरतल्पगतेin/with regard to the one lying on the bed of arrows

अच्युतेin/with regard to the unfailing one

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Bhīṣma (Devavrata)

Pāṇḍavas

Śāntanu (as Bhīṣma’s father, implied by Śāntanunandana in the prose gloss)

Kurukṣetra war (implied by the destruction of both armies)

Śaratālpa (bed of arrows)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Bhīṣma as an ideal authority on dharma—truthful, self-controlled, and unwavering—so that his final instructions, delivered after the devastation of war, are presented as ethically weighty guidance for rulers and society.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the sage to recount what was said when Bhīṣma lay on the bed of arrows and the Pāṇḍavas approached to serve him, at a time when the armies on both sides had been annihilated.