Shloka 26

Devanagari script

भीष्म कुरूणामृषभं दिव्यकर्मपराक्रमम्‌ । फिर तो शीतल

Transliteration

bhīṣmaṃ kurūṇām ṛṣabhaṃ divya-karma-parākramam | karmaṇā tena pārthasya śakrasyāiva vikurvataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Dengan perbuatan itu oleh Pārtha (Arjuna)—dilakukan dengan kuasa seumpama Indra—Bhīṣma, lembu jantan di antara kaum Kuru, masyhur dengan amal ilahi dan keberanian perkasa, menjadi puas dan tenteram. Aliran air yang sejuk, jernih, manis laksana amṛta, berharum dan berasa ilahi, memancar ke atas; dengan aliran itu Arjuna menenteramkan Bhīṣma, yang terbaik di antara Kuru. Dalam konteks kisah, tindakan Arjuna bukan sekadar keperkasaan, melainkan khidmat dharma kepada seorang tua-pejuang yang rebah: di tengah perang pun, hormat dan kewajipan belas kasih terhadap lawan yang mulia tetap dijunjung.

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣmam': 'Bhīṣma (the grandsire of the Kurus), object of the action', 'kurūṇām': 'of the Kurus (Kuru lineage/people)', 'ṛṣabham': 'bull

• best, foremost (honorific epithet)', 'divya': 'divine, extraordinary, celestial', 'karma': 'deed, act

• here: remarkable feat', 'parākrama': 'valor, heroic prowess', 'karmaṇā': 'by the deed/act (instrumental)', 'tena': 'by that (referring to the specific feat just described)', 'pārthasya': 'of Pārtha (Arjuna, son of Pṛthā/Kuntī)', 'śakrasya': 'of Śakra (Indra)', 'iva': 'like, as if', 'vikurvataḥ': 'performing, effecting, displaying (active exertion/manifestation)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Kurus
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Śakra (Indra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in righteous warfare, dharma requires honoring and serving the venerable—especially when they are suffering. Arjuna’s extraordinary act is framed as ethical duty and reverence, not triumphalism.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that through a remarkable feat by Arjuna (likened to Indra’s power), Bhīṣma—the foremost of the Kurus—was satisfied, referring to the immediately preceding action that relieved Bhīṣma’s distress.