Shloka 6

Devanagari script

तच्छुत्वा कुरुवृद्धो हि बली संवृतलोचन: । शनैरुद्वीक्ष्य सस्नेहमिदं वचनमब्रवीत्‌,उसकी बात सुनकर बंद नेत्रोंवाले बलवान्‌ कुरुवृद्ध भीष्मने धीरेसे आँखें खोलकर देखा और उस स्थानको एकान्त देख पहरेदारोंको दूर हटाकर एक हाथसे कर्णका उसी प्रकार सस्नेह आलिंगन किया, जैसे पिता अपने पुत्रको गलेसे लगाता है। तत्पश्चात्‌ उन्होंने इस प्रकार कहा--

Transliteration

tac chrutvā kuru-vṛddho hi balī saṃvṛta-locanaḥ | śanair udvīkṣya sa-sneham idaṃ vacanam abravīt ||

Translation

അത് കേട്ടപ്പോൾ കുരുവൃദ്ധനായ ബലവാനായ ഭീഷ്മൻ—കണ്ണുകൾ അടച്ചിരുന്നവൻ—പതുക്കെ കണ്ണുതുറന്ന് സ്നേഹത്തോടെ നോക്കി; പിന്നെ ഇങ്ങനെ വചനം പറഞ്ഞു.

Word by Word

तत्that (speech/statement)

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

कुरु-वृद्धःthe elder among the Kurus

हिindeed/for

बलीstrong, mighty

संवृत-लोचनःwhose eyes were closed

शनैःslowly, gently

उद्वीक्ष्यhaving looked up/after looking

स-स्नेहम्with affection, affectionately

इदम्this

वचनम्speech, words

अब्रवीत्said, spoke

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Karṇa

Kuru elders (Kuru-vṛddha)

guards (paharedāra; implied in the prose gloss)

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?

Even amid war and political hostility, the epic highlights the ethical weight of personal bonds and elder responsibility: Bhīṣma’s tenderness toward Karṇa shows that counsel and compassion can coexist with harsh duties, and that a leader’s words should be spoken with discretion and care.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Bhīṣma, after hearing what was said, slowly opens his eyes, ensures privacy by removing guards, embraces Karṇa affectionately like a father, and then begins to speak—setting the stage for a confidential, emotionally charged counsel in the midst of the Kurukṣetra war context.