Shloka 58

Devanagari script

श्रूयते च महाराज सम्प्राप्ता वासवेन वै । ब्रह्म॒वध्या ततः शुद्धि हयमेधेन लब्धवान्‌,महाराज! सुननेमें आता है कि इन्द्रको जो ब्रह्महत्या लगी थी, उससे उन्होंने अश्वमेध यज्ञ करके ही शुद्धि लाभ की थी

Transliteration

śrūyate ca mahārāja samprāptā vāsavena vai | brahma-vadhyā tataḥ śuddhiṃ hayamedhena labdhavān ||

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले—हे महाराज! असेही ऐकिवात आहे की वासव (इंद्र) याला ब्रह्महत्येचा कलंक लागला होता; आणि नंतर अश्वमेध यज्ञ करून त्याने शुद्धी प्राप्त केली.

Word by Word

श्रूयतेis heard / it is said

चand

महाराजO great king

सम्प्राप्ताhaving befallen / obtained (fem.)

वासवेनby Vāsava (Indra)

वैindeed / surely

ब्रह्मवध्याthe sin/taint of brahma-slaying (brahmahatyā)

ततःthereupon / from that

शुद्धिम्purification

हयमेधेनby the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)

लब्धवान्obtained (he obtained)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Vāsava (Indra)

Brahma-vadhyā / Brahmahatyā

Hayamedha (Aśvamedha sacrifice)

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 presents a dharmic precedent: even the powerful are not beyond moral consequence, and grave wrongdoing (brahma-hatyā) is met with prescribed expiation; purification is portrayed as attainable through sanctioned atonement (here, the Aśvamedha).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing the king, cites a traditional report about Indra: after incurring brahma-hatyā, Indra is said to have regained purity by performing the Aśvamedha sacrifice, supporting Bhīṣma’s broader discourse on dharma and expiatory rites.