Shanti Parva Adhyaya 361 Shloka 15 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अहं त्वनेन नागेन्द्र सत्यपूर्व समाहिता । प्रस्थाप्यो मत्सकाशं स सम्प्राप्तो भुजगोत्तम:,नागराज! उन्होंने मुझसे पहले सच्ची प्रतिज्ञा करा ली है कि नागराजके आते ही तुम उन्हें मेरे पास भेज देना

Transliteration

ahaṁ tv anena nāgendra satyapūrvaṁ samāhitāḥ | prasthāpyo matsakāśaṁ sa samprāpto bhujagottamaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : « Ô seigneur des serpents, je l’avais déjà lié auparavant par un serment de vérité. Selon ce vœu, il devait être conduit en ma présence ; ainsi, le plus éminent des serpents est maintenant arrivé devant moi. »

Word by Word

अहम्I

तुbut/indeed

अनेनby/with this (one)

नागेन्द्रO lord of serpents

सत्यपूर्वम्with truth first / after a truthful pledge

समाहिताhaving been made to agree / bound (by an agreement)

प्रस्थाप्यःto be sent/dispatchable; (one who) should be sent

मत्सकाशम्to my presence / near me

सःhe

सम्प्राप्तःhas arrived

भुजगोत्तमःthe best of serpents

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Nāgendra (serpent-king addressed)

Bhujagottama (foremost serpent, unnamed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights satya (truthfulness) expressed as fidelity to a prior pledge: once a promise grounded in truth is taken, one must act consistently with it, even in matters involving powerful beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses a serpent-king, explaining that he had already secured a truthful prior commitment, and therefore the foremost serpent—meant to be sent to Bhishma’s presence—has now duly arrived.