Shloka 4

Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ

The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच शरतल्पगते भीष्मे कौरवाणां धुरन्धरे । आजम्मुरषय: सिद्धा नारदप्रमुखा नूप,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--नरेश्वर! कौरवकुलका भार वहन करनेवाले भीष्मजी जब बाणशब्यापर सो रहे थे, उस समय वहाँ नारद आदि सिद्ध महर्षि भी पधारे थे

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | śaratālpagate bhīṣme kauravāṇāṃ dhurandhare | ājagmur ṛṣayaḥ siddhā nāradapramukhā nṛpa ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നരേശ്വരാ! കൗരവരുടെ ഭാരവാഹിയായ ഭീഷ്മൻ ശരതൽപ്പത്തിൽ ശയിച്ചിരിക്കെ, നാരദപ്രമുഖരായ സിദ്ധ മഹർഷിമാരും അവിടെ എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

शरतल्पगतेwhen (he) had gone to / was lying on the bed of arrows

भीष्मेin/when Bhīṣma (was)

कौरवाणाम्of the Kauravas

धुरन्धरेin/when the burden-bearer (chief supporter)

आजग्मुःcame/arrived

ऋषयःsages

सिद्धाःSiddhas (perfected beings)

नारदप्रमुखाःwith Nārada as the foremost

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīṣma

Kauravas

Nārada

Siddha Ṛṣis

Śara-tālpa (bed of arrows)

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 establishes the ethical setting for Bhīṣma’s forthcoming discourse: dharma is to be learned in the presence of realized sages, and guidance for rulers gains weight when affirmed by spiritual authorities like Nārada and the siddha-ṛṣis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma lies on the bed of arrows after the war; at that moment, Nārada and other perfected sages arrive, signaling that an important, dharma-centered instruction is about to unfold.