Shloka 4

Devanagari script

हुताशनशिखेव त्वं ज्वलमाना स्वतेजसा । सुता ताराधिपस्येव प्रभया दिवमागता,“तुम अपने तेजसे अग्निकी ज्वालाके समान प्रज्वलित हो रही हो और चन्द्रमाकी पुत्रीके समान अपनी उज्ज्वल प्रभासे प्रकाशित होती हुई स्वर्गगलोकमें आयी हो

Transliteration

hutāśanaśikheva tvaṁ jvalamānā svatejasā | sutā tārādhipasyeva prabhayā divam āgatā |

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— “നീ നിന്റെ സ്വതേജസ്സാൽ യജ്ഞാഗ്നിയുടെ ജ്വാലപോലെ ജ്വലിക്കുന്നു; ചന്ദ്രന്റെ പുത്രിയെപ്പോലെ ദീപ്തമായ പ്രഭയോടെ ദിവ്യലോകത്തിലേക്ക് വന്നിരിക്കുന്നു.”

Word by Word

हुताशन-शिखा-इवlike the flame of fire

त्वम्you

ज्वलमानाblazing, shining

स्व-तेजसाby your own radiance

सुताdaughter

तारा-अधिपस्य-इवof the lord of stars (the Moon), like

प्रभयाby (your) splendor

दिवम्to heaven, the sky

आगताhaving come, arrived

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Agni (hutāśana)

Candra (tārādhipa, the Moon)

Heaven (diva)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys that inner virtue (tejas) manifests outwardly as spiritual radiance, and that such merit leads to exalted states (symbolized by arrival in heaven). Ethical purity and righteous conduct are portrayed as self-luminous, needing no external validation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a feminine figure (a woman or goddess-like presence) and praises her appearance and destiny through two similes: she shines like a flame of Agni and, like the Moon’s daughter, illuminates heaven with her brilliance—indicating her elevated, meritorious arrival in the celestial realm.