Shloka 36

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच एतावदुक्त्वा वचन धृतराष्ट्र मनीषिणम्‌ । वासुदेव॑ महाबाहुम भ्यभाषत कौरव:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! मनीषी धृतराष्ट्रसे ऐसा वचन कहकर कुरुवंशी भीष्मने महाबाहु भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णसे इस प्रकार कहा

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | etāvad uktvā vacanaṁ dhṛtarāṣṭraṁ manīṣiṇam | vāsudevaṁ mahābāhuṁ abhyabhāṣata kauravaḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ജനമേജയാ! ജ്ഞാനിയായ ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രനോട് ഇത്രമാത്രം പറഞ്ഞ ശേഷം, കുരുവംശത്തിലെ മൂപ്പനായ ഭീഷ്മൻ മഹാബാഹു വാസുദേവൻ (ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ)നെ ഇപ്രകാരം അഭിസംബോധന ചെയ്തു।

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

एतावत्this much, so much

उक्त्वाhaving said

वचनम्speech, words

धृतराष्ट्रम्Dhritarashtra

मनीषिणम्wise (man)

वासुदेवम्Vasudeva (Krishna)

महाबाहुम्mighty-armed

अभ्यभाषतaddressed, spoke to

कौरवःthe Kuru (scion of Kuru; here Bhishma)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Kaurava (Kuru elder/Bhīṣma by context)

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 signals an ethical pivot: counsel offered to a worldly ruler (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) is followed by direct address to Vāsudeva, implying that dharma is not only debated intellectually but also sought from the highest moral and spiritual authority for decisive guidance.

What is happening in the narrative?

After finishing his statement to the wise Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kuru elder (understood in context as Bhīṣma) turns and begins speaking to Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva), marking a transition from advising the king to engaging the divine counselor.