Shloka 47

आदि पर्व, अध्याय 96 — काश्यकन्याहरणं, शाल्वसमागमः, अम्बावचनं च

Kāśī princesses taken; encounter with Śālva; Ambā’s declaration

Devanagari script

शान्तनु: खलु गड्ां भागीरथीमुपयेमे । तस्यामस्यथ जज्ञे देववब्रतो नाम: यमाहुर्भीष्ममिति,शान्तनुने भागीरथी गंगाको अपनी पत्नी बनाया; जिसके गर्भसे उन्हें देवव्रत नामक पुत्र प्राप्त हुआ, जिसे लोग “भीष्म' कहते हैं

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca | Śāntanuḥ khalu Gaṅgāṃ Bhāgīrathīm upayeme | tasyām asyatha jajñe Devavrato nāma yaṃ āhur Bhīṣmam iti |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: King Śāntanu indeed married Gaṅgā, the Bhāgīrathī. From her he then had a son named Devavrata, whom people call Bhīṣma. The verse situates Bhīṣma’s birth within a lawful royal marriage and signals the ethical weight of lineage and vows that will later define his dharma.

Word by Word

शान्तनुःKing Śāntanu

खलुindeed, surely

गङ्गाम्Gaṅgā

भागीरथीम्Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)

उपयेमेmarried, took (as wife)

तस्याम्in her (in that woman)

अस्यof him (of this man, i.e., Śāntanu)

अथthen, thereafter

जज्ञेwas born

देवव्रतःDevavrata (name of the son)

नामby name, named

यम्whom

आहुःthey call, they say

भीष्मम्Bhīṣma

इतिthus (quotative)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śāntanu

Gaṅgā

Bhāgīrathī

Devavrata

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the dharmic framework of royal lineage: legitimate marriage and rightful progeny form the ethical and social foundation upon which later duties and vows (especially Bhīṣma’s) gain authority and meaning.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that King Śāntanu married Gaṅgā (called Bhāgīrathī) and that their son Devavrata was born from her; this son is the famed Bhīṣma, whose later life will shape the Kuru dynasty.