Shloka 66

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

भीष्मं च शरवर्षाणि सृजन्तमनिशं युधि । प्रतपन्तमिवादित्यं मध्यमासाद्य सेनयो:,तदनन्तर महाबाहु श्रीकृष्णने उस समरांगणमें भीष्मका पराक्रम देखकर यह विचार किया कि अर्जुन तो कोमलतापूर्वक युद्ध कर रहा है और भीष्म युद्धस्थलमें निरन्तर बाणोंकी वर्षा कर रहे हैं। ये दोनों सेनाओंके बीचमें आकर तपते हुए सूर्यकी भाँति सुशोभित होते और पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके अच्छे-अच्छे सैनिकोंको चुन-चुनकर मार रहे हैं। युधिष्ठिरकी सेनामें भीष्मने प्रलयकालका-सा दृश्य उपस्थित कर दिया है

Transliteration

bhīṣmaṃ ca śaravarṣāṇi sṛjantam aniśaṃ yudhi | pratapantam ivādityaṃ madhyam āsādya senayoḥ ||

Translation

त्यांनी पाहिले की भीष्म युद्धात अखंड बाणवृष्टी करीत दोन्ही सैन्यांच्या मध्यभागी येऊन तपत्या सूर्याप्रमाणे दाहक तेजाने प्रज्वलित आहेत।

Word by Word

भीष्मम्Bhishma (as object)

चand

शर-वर्षाणिshowers of arrows

सृजन्तम्creating, releasing

अनिशम्unceasingly, constantly

युधिin battle

प्रतपन्तम्blazing, scorching

इवlike, as if

आदित्यम्the sun

मध्यम्the middle (space)

आसाद्यhaving reached, coming to

सेनयोःof the two armies

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Āditya (the Sun)

the two armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces)

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 underscores the ethical weight of kṣatriya-dharma in war: extraordinary martial power can appear ‘sun-like’ and irresistible, yet it also intensifies collective suffering. It invites reflection on how duty, prowess, and destruction coexist on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Bhīṣma’s dominant performance: he stands between the two armies and continuously rains arrows, shining and scorching like the sun, thereby breaking the Pāṇḍava ranks and creating a near-apocalyptic scene in Yudhiṣṭhira’s forces.