Shloka 19

Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard

Devanagari script

अमड्ल्यध्वजश्नैव याज्ञसेनिर्महाबल: । न चामड्लिके तस्मिन्‌ प्रहरेदापगासुत:,“इसके सिवा द्रुपदका यह महाबली पुत्र अपनी ध्वजामें अमंगलसूचक चिह्न धारण करता है। अतः इस अमांगलिक शिखण्डीपर गंगानन्दन भीष्म कभी प्रहार नहीं करेंगे

Transliteration

amaṅgala-dhvajaś caiva yājñasenir mahābalaḥ | na cāmaṅgalike tasmin prahared āpagā-sutaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : « De plus, le puissant fils de Drupada —Śikhaṇḍin— porte sur sa bannière des signes tenus pour de mauvais augure. C’est pourquoi Bhīṣma, fils du Gange, ne frappera pas ce Śikhaṇḍin funeste. »

Word by Word

अमङ्गल्यध्वजःone whose banner is inauspicious / having an inauspicious banner

एवindeed/just

याज्ञसेनिःYājñaseni (son of Drupada; here: Śikhaṇḍin)

महाबलःmighty/very strong

नnot

चand

अमङ्गलिकेin/with regard to the inauspicious one

तस्मिन्in him/with respect to him

प्रहरेत्would strike / should strike

आपगासुतःson of the river (Gaṅgā), i.e., Bhīṣma

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma (Āpagā-suta, son of Gaṅgā)

Śikhaṇḍin (Yājñaseni, son of Drupada)

Drupada

Gaṅgā

Dhvaja (banner/standard)

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?

Even amid war, conduct is shaped by vows, codes of honor, and perceived dharmic restraints. Bhīṣma’s refusal to strike Śikhaṇḍin highlights how personal ethics and social-religious notions (such as auspiciousness/inauspiciousness and propriety of targets) can limit violence even on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya explains to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śikhaṇḍin, Drupada’s child, bears an inauspicious emblem on his banner; consequently Bhīṣma (Gaṅgā’s son) will not attack him. This sets up a tactical and moral constraint affecting Bhīṣma’s actions in the Kurukṣetra war.