Shloka 82
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
कृत्तिकास्तस्य नक्षत्रमसेरग्निश्व दैवतम् । रोहिणी गोत्रमस्याथ रुद्रश्न गुरुरुत्तम:,उस “असि' का नक्षत्र कृत्तिका है, देवता अग्नि है, गोत्र रोहिणी है तथा उत्तम गुरु रुद्रदेव हैं
kṛttikās tasya nakṣatram aser agniś ca daivatam | rohiṇī gotram asyātha rudraś ca gurur uttamaḥ ||
ಆ ‘ಅಸಿ’ (ಖಡ್ಗ)ಯ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಕೃತ್ತಿಕಾ; ಅದರ ದೈವ ಅಗ್ನಿ. ಅದರ ಗೋತ್ರ ರೋಹಿಣೀ; ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಗುರು ರುದ್ರನು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the sword (asi) not as a mere tool of violence but as a sacralized power with cosmic affiliations—nakṣatra, deity, lineage, and guru—implying that warfare and force must be approached with discipline, ritual awareness, and responsibility under dharma.
Bhīṣma is describing the ‘identity’ of the sword through traditional correspondences: its nakṣatra is Kṛttikā, its presiding deity is Agni, its gotra is Rohiṇī, and its supreme preceptor is Rudra—placing the weapon within a mythic-ritual taxonomy.