Shloka 88

धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)

Devanagari script

ते सहाया भविष्यन्ति सुरकार्ये मम द्विज । ततो रक्ष:पतिं घोरं पुलस्त्यकुलपांसनम्‌

Transliteration

te sahāyā bhaviṣyanti surakārye mama dvija | tato rakṣaḥpatiṃ ghoraṃ pulastyakulapāṃsanam ||

Translation

Wahai brāhmaṇa, mereka akan menjadi sekutu beta dalam urusan para dewa. Sesudah itu beta akan berhadapan dengan tuan kaum Rākṣasa yang menggerunkan—yang mencemarkan keturunan Pulastya.

Word by Word

तेthey

सहायाःhelpers, allies

भविष्यन्तिwill be

सुरकार्येin the work of the gods

ममof me, my

द्विजO twice-born (brahmin)

ततःthen, thereafter

रक्षःपतिम्the lord of the Rakṣasas

घोरम्terrible

पुलस्त्यकुलपांसनम्the disgrace (stain) of Pulastya's lineage

Speaker

(भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

dvija (a brāhmaṇa addressee)

suras (devas/gods)

rakṣaḥpati (lord of the Rākṣasas)

Pulastya (sage; progenitor associated with Rākṣasa lineages)

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?

Aid given to righteous, cosmic purposes (surakārya) is presented as worthy and dharmic, while a powerful wrongdoer is morally judged not by strength but by conduct—hence being called a “disgrace” to an ancestral line.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a brāhmaṇa and states that certain beings will become his allies in carrying out a divine task; then he declares his intention to face a fearsome lord of the Rākṣasas, denouncing him as a blot on Pulastya’s lineage.