Bhishma Parva Adhyaya 3 Shloka 14 - Mahabharata | Malayalam | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 14

उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents

Devanagari script

मघास्वड्रारको वक्र: श्रवणे च बृहस्पति: । भगं नक्षत्रमाक्रम्य सूर्यपुत्रेण पीड्यते

Transliteration

maghāsv aḍrārako vakraḥ śravaṇe ca bṛhaspatiḥ | bhagaṃ nakṣatram ākramya sūryaputreṇa pīḍyate ||

Translation

മഘാ നക്ഷത്രത്തിൽ ചൊവ്വ വക്രഗതിയിലാണ്; ശ്രവണത്തിൽ ബൃഹസ്പതി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു; സൂര്യപുത്രനായ ശനി ഭഗ (പൂർവഫാൽഗുനി) നക്ഷത്രത്തെ അധിരോഹിച്ച് അതിനെ പീഡിപ്പിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

मघासुin (the) Maghā (asterisms)

अड्रारकःAḍrāraka (a planet/astral entity; likely Mars in context)

वक्रःretrograde, crooked

श्रवणेin (the) Śravaṇa (asterism)

चand

बृहस्पतिःBṛhaspati (Jupiter)

भगम्Bhaga (name of a nakṣatra/deity; here: the Bhaga nakṣatra)

नक्षत्रम्asterism, lunar mansion

आक्रम्यhaving approached/overrun

सूर्यपुत्रेणby the son of the Sun (i.e., Śani/Saturn)

पीड्यतेis afflicted/tormented

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Aṅgāraka (Mars)

Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)

Śani (Saturn, Sūryaputra)

Maghā (nakṣatra)

Śravaṇa (nakṣatra)

Bhaga / Pūrvaphālgunī (nakṣatra)

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 frames celestial disturbances as moral and social warnings: when adharma rises and conflict becomes inevitable, even the heavens are described as ‘out of joint,’ urging reflection, restraint, and a return to righteous conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa reports specific planetary positions—Mars retrograde in Maghā, Jupiter in Śravaṇa, and Saturn afflicting the Bhaga/Pūrvaphālgunī asterism—as ominous signs foretelling the coming devastation of the Kurukṣetra war.