Shloka 22

भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat

Devanagari script

शीर्णपर्णेन चैकेन पारयामास सा परम्‌ | संवत्सरं तीव्रकोपा पादाड्गुष्ठाग्रधिछ्ठिता

Transliteration

śīrṇaparṇena caikena pārayāmāsa sā param | saṃvatsaraṃ tīvrakopā pādāṅguṣṭhāgrādhiṣṭhitā ||

Translation

एकाच वाळलेल्या पानावर ती निर्वाह करीत तपश्चर्येची परम सीमा गाठू लागली. तीव्र संकल्पाने युक्त ती एक वर्ष पायाच्या अंगठ्याच्या अग्रभागावर उभी राहून अचल राहिली.

Word by Word

शीर्णपर्णेनwith a withered leaf

चand

एकेनwith one (single)

पारयामासshe carried/maintained (brought through)

साshe

परम्the end/limit; the other shore

संवत्सरम्for a year

तीव्रकोपाhaving fierce anger

पादाङ्गुष्ठाग्राधिष्ठिताstanding/poised on the tip of the big toe

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Rama

a woman ascetic (sā)

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 highlights the ethical potency of tapas: disciplined restraint and unwavering resolve can elevate a person’s inner strength, making endurance and self-control central virtues in dharmic life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Rama describes an extraordinary act of austerity by a woman: she subsists on a single withered leaf and maintains a severe vow for a year, standing balanced on the tip of her great toe.