Shloka 10

Devanagari script

असंख्येयगुणो वीर: प्रहर्ता दारुणद्ुति: । दण्डपाणिरिवासहा: कालवत्‌ प्रचरिष्यति,इस वीरमें असंख्य गुण हैं। यह प्रहार करनेमें कुशल और भयंकर तेजसे सम्पन्न है; अतः दण्डधारी कालके समान असह्ा होकर युद्धभूमिमें विचरण करेगा

Transliteration

asaṅkhyeyaguṇo vīraḥ prahartā dāruṇadyutiḥ | daṇḍapāṇir ivāsahaḥ kālavat pracariṣyati ||

Translation

या वीरात असंख्य गुण आहेत. तो प्रहारात निपुण आणि भयंकर तेजाने युक्त आहे; दंडधारी काळासारखा असह्य होऊन तो रणभूमीत संचार करील.

Word by Word

असंख्येयगुणःhaving innumerable virtues

वीरःhero, warrior

प्रहर्ताstriker, attacker

दारुणद्युतिःof dreadful splendor

दण्डपाणिःstaff-in-hand (Yama/Death)

इवlike, as

असहःirresistible, unendurable

कालवत्like Time/Death

प्रचरिष्यतिwill roam/move about

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Kāla (Time/Death)

Daṇḍa (rod of punishment)

battlefield (yuddhabhūmi)

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 frames martial prowess within a moral-political idea: daṇḍa (punitive authority) is a force that, when embodied by a powerful warrior, becomes inexorable like Kāla. It highlights how overwhelming power in war can function as an instrument of inevitable consequence—rewarding and punishing through the outcomes of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing a particular hero’s battlefield nature—countless virtues, deadly striking ability, and terrifying brilliance—predicting that he will move through the war like Time/Death itself, unstoppable and punitive, dominating the field.