Shloka 77

भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः

Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas

Devanagari script

प्राणानादत्त योधानां पिता देवव्रतस्तव

Transliteration

prāṇān ādatta yodhānāṁ pitā devavratas tava

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Ayahanda tuanku, Devavrata (Bhīṣma), telah meragut nyawa para pahlawan—menumbangkan mereka di medan perang. Baris ini menegaskan beban etika perang yang mengerikan: bahkan seorang tua yang dimuliakan, terikat oleh kewajipan kepada pihaknya, menjadi alat kematian yang meluas.

Word by Word

• प्राणान्: lives, vital breaths
• प्राणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• आदत्त: took away, seized
• आदत्त: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), Third, Singular

• योधानाम्: of the warriors
• योधानाम्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• देवव्रतः: Devavrata (Bhishma)
• देवव्रतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवव्रत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: your
• तव: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Devavrata (Bhīṣma)
• warriors (yodhāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral gravity of warfare: even a venerable figure like Bhīṣma, famed for vows and righteousness, can become a cause of mass death when bound to a battlefield role. It invites reflection on duty (dharma) versus the human cost of fulfilling it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Devavrata (Bhīṣma), the great elder on the Kaurava side, is killing many warriors in the ongoing Kurukṣetra battle.