Shloka 50

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

ततो देवो महादेव: शूलपाणिर्भगाक्षिहा

Transliteration

tato devo mahādevaḥ śūlapāṇir bhagākṣihā

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം ദേവൻ മഹാദേവൻ—ശൂലപാണി, ഭഗന്റെ നേത്രം നശിപ്പിച്ചവൻ—പ്രത്യക്ഷനായി.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पञ्चमी-अर्थे: 'from/thereupon')

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (the great god, Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शूलपाणिः: the trident-handed one
• शूलपाणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूलपाणि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भगाक्षिहा: the destroyer of Bhaga's eye
• भगाक्षिहा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगाक्षिहन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Śūla (trident)
• Bhaga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

By invoking Śiva through powerful epithets, the passage underscores that dharma is upheld not only by human effort but also by a higher moral-cosmic authority that can restrain arrogance and restore order when it is violated.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues narrating and introduces Śiva’s arrival or action, identifying him as Mahādeva, the trident-bearer, and the one famed for striking Bhaga’s eye—signals that a decisive divine presence is entering the episode.