Shloka 18

Adhyāya 70: Sātyaki’s Arrow-Display and the Bhūriśravas Engagement; Twilight Withdrawal

Devanagari script

परं हि पुण्डरीकाक्षान्न भूतं न भविष्यति । मुखत: सो5सृजद्‌ विप्रान्‌ बाहुभ्यां क्षत्रियांस्तथा

Transliteration

paraṁ hi puṇḍarīkākṣān na bhūtaṁ na bhaviṣyati | mukhataḥ so 'sṛjad viprān bāhubhyāṁ kṣatriyāṁs tathā ||

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले—पुंडरीकाक्षापेक्षा श्रेष्ठ असा कोणी पूर्वी झाला नाही, पुढेही होणार नाही. त्यांनी मुखातून ब्राह्मणांना आणि भुजांतून क्षत्रियांना उत्पन्न केले.

Word by Word

परम्beyond; further; exceedingly

हिindeed; for

पुण्डरीकाक्षात्from the lotus-eyed one (Vishnu/Krishna)

नnot

भूतम्has been; (anything) that existed

नnor; not

भविष्यतिwill be; will exist

मुखतःfrom the mouth

सःhe

असृजत्created; emitted

विप्रान्brahmins

बाहुभ्याम्with/from (his) two arms

क्षत्रियान्kshatriyas

तथाthus; likewise

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)

Brāhmaṇas (viprāḥ)

Kṣatriyas

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 asserts the unsurpassed supremacy of Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa) and links social order to a sacred origin: brāhmaṇas arise from the mouth (speech, learning, ritual authority) and kṣatriyas from the arms (strength, protection, governance), grounding dharma in a cosmic hierarchy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is speaking and praising Puṇḍarīkākṣa as incomparable across time. He then describes a creation motif in which the Lord brings forth the brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya orders from different parts of his body, emphasizing their distinct functions and divine sanction.