Shloka 77
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
मया विनिर्जिता: पूर्व मरुतश्न शचीपते । त्वमेव शक्र जानासि देवासुरसमागमे
mayā vinirjitāḥ pūrvaṁ marutaś ca śacīpate | tvam eva śakra jānāsi devāsura-samāgame || śacī-vallabha indra! pūrve yadā devāsura-saṅgrāmo 'bhavat tadā tvaṁ tat suṣṭhu smarasi | mayā ekenaiva sarve ādityāḥ rudrāḥ sādhyāḥ vasavaś ca marud-gaṇāś ca parājitāḥ |
Bhīṣma dit : «Autrefois, ô seigneur de Śacī, je soumis même les Marut. Toi seul, ô Śakra, sais bien ce qui advint lorsque dieux et asuras se rencontrèrent au combat. Ô Indra, bien-aimé de Śacī : lorsque cette guerre éclata, tu t’en souviens clairement — moi seul vainquis les Āditya, les Rudra, les Sādhya, les Vasu et les hostes des Marut.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the use of remembered precedent and credible testimony to establish authority in counsel: Bhishma invokes a past cosmic battle known to Indra to validate his own prowess and the seriousness of the matter at hand. Ethically, it highlights how reputation and proven capability are used to persuade, while also warning that power can be asserted through narrative control and selective remembrance.
Bhishma addresses Indra directly, reminding him of an earlier Deva–Asura conflict. He claims that in that encounter he single-handedly overcame major classes of gods—Adityas, Rudras, Sadhyas, Vasus, and the Maruts—using Indra’s own memory as corroboration.