Shloka 20

Devanagari script

उभे पूर्वापरे संध्ये नित्यं पश्यामि भारत । उदयास्तमने सूर्य कबन्धै: परिवारितम्‌,'भारत! मैं प्रातः और सायं दोनों संध्याओंके समय उदय और अस्तकी वेलामें सूर्यदेवको प्रतिदिन कबन्धोंसे घिरा हुआ देखता हूँ

Transliteration

ubhe pūrvāpare sandhye nityaṁ paśyāmi bhārata | udayāstamane sūryaṁ kabandhaiḥ parivāritam ||

Translation

वैशंपायन म्हणाले—हे भारत! प्रातः व सायं—दोन्ही संध्याकाळी—उदय व अस्ताच्या वेळी मी दररोज सूर्याला कबंधांनी वेढलेला पाहतो.

Word by Word

उभेboth

पूर्वापरेmorning and evening (former and latter)

संध्येtwilights

नित्यम्always, daily

पश्यामिI see

भारतO Bharata

उदयास्तमनेat sunrise and sunset

सूर्यthe sun

कबन्धैःby headless trunks / ominous bodies

परिवारितम्surrounded, encircled

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (Janamejaya)

Sūrya (Sun)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how adharma and impending violence manifest as disturbances in the natural and moral order. The ‘Sun surrounded by kabandhas’ functions as a warning: when society moves toward unjust slaughter, even the symbols of light and order appear eclipsed by death.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma Parva’s opening, Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya a series of terrifying portents seen around the time of the Kurukṣetra war. Here he reports a recurring vision at dawn and dusk: the Sun at rising and setting appears encircled by kabandhas, foreshadowing widespread carnage.