Shloka 26

Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons

Devanagari script

ततो मुहूर्ताद्‌ भगवान्‌ सहसारांशुर्दिवाकर: । दहन्‌ वनमिवैकान्ते प्रतीच्यां प्रत्यदृश्यत,इसी समय दो ही घड़ीमें भगवान्‌ सहस्रकिरणमाली दिवाकर पश्चिम दिशाके एकान्त प्रदेशमें वहाँके वनप्रान्तको दग्ध करते हुए-से दिखायी दिये

Transliteration

tato muhūrtād bhagavān sahasrāṁśur divākaraḥ | dahan vanam ivaikānte pratīcyāṁ pratyadṛśyata ||

Translation

やがてしばらくして、祝福された太陽—ディヴァーカラ、千条の光を放つ者—が、西の人影まれなる方角に姿を現し、あたかもその地の森を焼き尽くすかのように見えた。ここには、時の流れの不可避と、熱を帯びた厳しい日没の気配が示され、語られる出来事に重い空気が添えられる。

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

मुहूर्तात्after a short while (from a muhūrta)

भगवान्the blessed/lordly one

सहस्रांशुःthe thousand-rayed one (sun)

दिवाकरःthe day-maker (sun)

दहन्burning

वनम्forest

इवas if, like

एकान्तेin a secluded place

प्रतीच्याम्in the west (western direction)

प्रत्यदृश्यतappeared, was seen

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Divākara (the Sun)

pratīcī diś (the western direction)

vana (forest)

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 steady, impersonal force of time and cosmic order: the Sun’s westward appearance and scorching radiance evoke the inevitability of change and the sobering atmosphere that often frames ethical reflection in the Śānti Parva.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the Sun becoming visible in the western quarter after a brief interval, seeming to burn the forest there—an evocative scene-setting detail that marks the passage of time and intensifies the mood of the surrounding narration.