Shloka 28
भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः
Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead
Devanagari script
यथा वारयते वेला क्षुब्धतोयं महार्णवम्
Transliteration
yathā vārayate velā kṣubdha-toyaṁ mahārṇavam
Translation
Sañjaya said: “Just as the shoreline holds back the great ocean when its waters are violently churned.”
Word by Word
यथाas, just as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
वारयतेrestrains, holds back
वारयते:
TypeVerb
Rootवारय् (√वृ, caus.)
FormLat (present indicative), 3, singular, Parasmaipada
वेलाshore, coast, boundary (of the sea)
वेला:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवेला
Formfeminine, nominative, singular
क्षुब्ध-तोयम्the agitated water
क्षुब्ध-तोयम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootक्षुब्ध (√क्षुभ्) + तोय
Formneuter, accusative, singular
महा-अर्णवम्the great ocean
महा-अर्णवम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमहत् + अर्णव
Formmasculine, accusative, singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)व
वेला (shoreline/coast)म
महार्णव (great ocean)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
The verse uses a natural image to highlight the ethical ideal of restraint: even when powerful forces surge and become turbulent, a rightful boundary or steady principle can check them and prevent destructive overflow.
Sañjaya employs a simile—shoreline restraining a storm-tossed ocean—to describe a situation in the war narrative where an overwhelming, agitated force is being contained or checked by a stabilizing counterforce.