Shloka 10

Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse

Devanagari script

स संरब्ध: समावृत्य शरं कालान्तकोपमम्‌ | संदधे बलवत्‌ कृष्य घोर शत्रुनिबर्हणम्‌,तब उन्होंने भी रोषमें आकर काल और यमके समान भयंकर शत्रुनाशक बाणको हाथमें ले धनुषको बलपूर्वक खींचकर उसके ऊपर रखा

Transliteration

sa saṃrabdhaḥ samāvṛtya śaraṃ kālāntakopamam | saṃdadhe balavat kṛṣya ghora-śatru-nibarhaṇam ||

Translation

Maka ia pun murka; ia mengambil sebuah anak panah yang mengerikan, laksana Maut pada akhir zaman—penghancur musuh—lalu menarik busur dengan sekuat tenaga dan memasang batang panah yang dahsyat itu.

Word by Word

सःhe

संरब्धःenraged, provoked

समावृत्यhaving taken/covered (i.e., having grasped/handled)

शरम्arrow

कालान्तक-उपमम्like Death (Yama), death-like

संदधेhe fixed/placed (on the bow)

बलवत्forcefully, with strength

कृष्यhaving drawn (the bowstring)

घोरम्terrible, dreadful

शत्रु-निबर्हणम्destroyer of enemies

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

arrow (śara)

bow (implied by drawing and fitting the arrow)

Kāla (Time/Death, as a simile)

Antaka/Yama (Death, as a simile)

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 how anger can rapidly escalate into lethal intent; in the epic’s ethical frame, martial power must be governed by dharma, because wrath makes one act as an instrument of ‘Time/Death,’ risking disproportionate harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s narration, a warrior—provoked and furious—seizes a fearsome arrow likened to apocalyptic Death, draws the bow with force, and sets the arrow to strike down an enemy.