Shloka 39

Devanagari script

अथ सूर्यसहस्रस्य प्रभां युगपदुत्थिताम्‌

Transliteration

atha sūryasahasrasya prabhāṃ yugapad utthitām

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Alors s’éleva d’un seul coup une clarté semblable à celle de mille soleils.»

Word by Word

• अथ: then/now
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सूर्यसहस्रस्य: of (a) thousand suns
• सूर्यसहस्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्यसहस्र
• Form: neuter, genitive, singular

• प्रभाम्: splendor, radiance
• प्रभाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभा
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• युगपत्: simultaneously, at once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: युगपत्

• उत्थिताम्: arisen, risen up
• उत्थिताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्थिता
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Sun (Sūrya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a powerful simile—“a thousand suns”—to convey overwhelming, sudden brilliance. In the ethical and contemplative atmosphere of Śānti Parva, such imagery typically signals a moment of heightened insight or revelation, reminding the listener that truth and dharma can appear with unmistakable clarity, dispelling confusion at once.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a sudden manifestation of extraordinary light, comparing it to the simultaneous radiance of a thousand suns. The line functions as a vivid narrative marker of an awe-inspiring event or vision, emphasizing its immediacy (yugapad) and its surpassing intensity (sūrya-sahasra-prabhā).