Shloka 21

उत्पातदर्शनम् — Portents and Kāla among the Vṛṣṇis

Devanagari script

भूरिश्रवाश्छिन्नबाहुर्युद्धे प्रायगतस्त्वया । वधेन सुनृशंसेन कथं वीरेण पातित:,“अरे! युद्धमें भूरिश्रवाकी बाँह कट गयी थी और वे मरणान्त उपवासका निश्चय करके पृथ्वीपर बैठ गये थे, उस अवस्थामें तूने वीर कहलाकर भी उनकी क्रूरतापूर्ण हत्या क्‍यों की?”

Transliteration

bhūriśravāś chinnabāhur yuddhe prāyagatas tvayā | vadhena sunṛśaṃsena kathaṃ vīreṇa pātitaḥ ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「戦いにおいてブーリシュラヴァスは腕を断たれ、断食して死ぬと決して、地に坐した。しかるに汝は—勇者と呼ばれながら—なぜあれほど残酷に彼を討ち倒したのか。」

Word by Word

भूरिश्रवाःBhūrishravas

छिन्नबाहुःwhose arm was cut off

युद्धेin battle

प्रायगतःgone to death / resolved to die (fasting unto death)

त्वयाby you

वधेनby killing / with slaughter

सुनृशंसेनcruel, merciless

कथम्how?

वीरेणby a hero / by a brave man

पातितःwas struck down / felled

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)

भ

भूरिश्रवस् (Bhūriśravas)

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 the ethical boundary in warfare: even amid conflict, a warrior’s conduct is judged by restraint and fairness. Killing an incapacitated opponent who has withdrawn from combat and undertaken a fast unto death is portrayed as a lapse from heroic dharma, emphasizing accountability beyond mere victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recalls a charged incident from the war: Bhūriśravas, after losing an arm, sits down and resolves to die by fasting. The speaker questions how he could be slain in that state, framing the act as cruel and morally troubling even if done by someone reputed to be a hero.