Shanti Parva Adhyaya 54 Shloka 1 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

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Shloka 1

Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ

The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows

Devanagari script

अपर बछ। हक २ >> चतु:पञ्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्ण और भीष्मजीकी बातचीत जनमेजय उवाच धर्मात्मनि महावीर्ये सत्यसंधे जितात्मनि । देवव्रते महाभागे शरतल्पगते<च्युते

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca | dharmātmani mahāvīrye satyasaṃdhe jitātmani | devavrate mahābhāge śaratālpagate 'cyute |

Translation

Janamejaya dit : «Ô grand sage, lorsque le noble Devavrata Bhīṣma—droit d’âme, d’une vaillance immense, ferme dans la vérité, maître de lui-même et jamais déchu du dharma—gisait sur son lit de flèches, et que les Pāṇḍava vinrent se tenir devant lui pour le servir, quelles paroles furent échangées en cette heure décisive, alors que les armées des deux camps avaient été entièrement anéanties ? Je t’en prie, dis-le-moi.»

Word by Word

जनमेजयःJanamejaya

उवाचsaid

धर्मात्मनिin/with regard to the righteous-souled one

महावीर्येin/with regard to the great-in-valour one

सत्यसन्धेin/with regard to the truth-bound one

जितात्मनिin/with regard to the self-controlled one

देवव्रतेin/with regard to Devavrata (Bhishma)

महाभागेin/with regard to the greatly fortunate one

शरतल्पगतेin/with regard to the one lying on the bed of arrows

अच्युतेin/with regard to the unfailing one

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Bhīṣma (Devavrata)

Pāṇḍavas

Śāntanu (as Bhīṣma’s father, implied by Śāntanunandana in the prose gloss)

Kurukṣetra war (implied by the destruction of both armies)

Śaratālpa (bed of arrows)

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 frames Bhīṣma as an ideal authority on dharma—truthful, self-controlled, and unwavering—so that his final instructions, delivered after the devastation of war, are presented as ethically weighty guidance for rulers and society.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the sage to recount what was said when Bhīṣma lay on the bed of arrows and the Pāṇḍavas approached to serve him, at a time when the armies on both sides had been annihilated.