Shloka 16

Devanagari script

त्यम्बक: सवितुर्बाहू भगस्य नयने तथा । पूृष्णश्न दशनान्‌ क्रुद्धों धनुष्कोट्या व्यशातयत्‌

Transliteration

tryambakaḥ savitur bāhū bhagasya nayane tathā | pūṣṇaś ca daśanān kruddho dhanuṣkoṭyā vyaśātayat ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Pris de fureur, Tryambaka (Śiva) abattit les bras de Savitṛ et, de même, les yeux de Bhaga ; et il brisa aussi les dents de Pūṣan avec la pointe de son arc. Le vers souligne qu’une colère sans maîtrise, au cœur d’un conflit sacrificiel, entraîne des torts graves et démesurés même pour des divinités vénérées, changeant un rite voué à l’ordre en scène de rétribution violente.

Word by Word

त्र्यम्बकःTryambaka (Śiva)

सवितुःof Savitṛ (the Sun)

बाहूtwo arms

भगस्यof Bhaga

नयनेtwo eyes

तथाlikewise/also

पूष्णःof Pūṣan

दशनान्teeth

क्रुद्धःangry

धनुष्कोट्याwith the tip/end of (his) bow

व्यशातयत्he struck down/broke/destroyed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Tryambaka (Śiva)

Savitṛ

Bhaga

Pūṣan

bow (dhanuḥ)

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 highlights the ethical danger of uncontrolled anger: when fury governs action, even sacred contexts and exalted beings become subject to disproportionate injury, and order (dharma) is eclipsed by retaliation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates a moment where Tryambaka (Śiva), in anger, maims Savitṛ (cuts off his arms), blinds Bhaga (destroys his eyes), and breaks Pūṣan’s teeth using the tip of his bow—depicting a violent divine intervention amid a sacrificial dispute.