Shloka 90

Devanagari script

ततो>5हमन्रुवं देवीमभिवाद्य कृताञ्जलि: । सर्व तद्‌ भरतश्रेष्ठ यथावृत्तं स्वयंवरे,तब मैंने हाथ जोड़कर गंगादेवीको प्रणाम किया और स्वयंवरमें जैसी घटना घटित हुई थी, वह सब वृत्तान्त उनसे आद्योपान्त कह सुनाया

Transliteration

tato 'ham abruvaṃ devīm abhivādya kṛtāñjaliḥ | sarvaṃ tad bharataśreṣṭha yathāvṛttaṃ svayaṃvare ||

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ കൃതാഞ്ജലിയോടെ ദേവി ഗംഗയെ വന്ദിച്ചു; ഭരതശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, സ്വയംവരത്തിൽ സംഭവിച്ചതെല്ലാം യഥാവൃത്തമായി അവൾക്കു പറഞ്ഞു കേൾപ്പിച്ചു.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

अहम्I

अनुवम्I related/told (in sequence)

देवीम्the goddess

अभिवाद्यhaving saluted

कृताञ्जलिःwith hands joined (in reverence)

सर्वम्all, the whole

तत्that

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

यथाas, just as

वृत्तम्what happened, the event

स्वयंवरेin the svayaṃvara

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Gaṅgā (Goddess)

Bharata lineage (Bharataśreṣṭha)

Svayaṃvara

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 highlights dharmic speech: approaching elders/divine figures with humility (abhivādya, kṛtāñjaliḥ) and conveying events truthfully and completely (sarvaṃ… yathāvṛttam), especially when decisions and responsibilities depend on accurate testimony.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, after respectfully saluting the goddess Gaṅgā with folded hands, narrates to her the full sequence of what transpired at a svayaṃvara, presenting the events exactly as they occurred.