Shloka 26

Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command

Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa

Devanagari script

एतच्छुतं मया तात ऋषीणां भावितात्मनाम्‌ | वासुदेव॑ कथयतां समवाये पुरातनम्‌

Transliteration

etac chrutaṃ mayā tāta ṛṣīṇāṃ bhāvitātmanām | vāsudevaṃ kathayatāṃ samavāye purātanam ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਪੁੱਤਰ! ਇਹ ਮੈਂ ਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਅਤੇ ਸੰਯਮੀ ਮਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਰਿਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਮੁਖੋਂ ਸੁਣਿਆ ਹੈ। ਪੁਰਾਤਨ ਸਮੇਂ ਅਜਿਹੇ ਮਹਰਿਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਸਭਾ ਇਕੱਠੀ ਹੋਈ ਸੀ; ਉੱਥੇ ਉਹ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਵਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਾਚੀਨ ਮਹਿਮਾ-ਕਥਾ ਕਹਿ ਰਹੇ ਸਨ—ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਹੀ ਮੈਂ ਇਹ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਸੁਣੀਆਂ।

Word by Word

• {'etat': 'this (teaching/account)', 'śrutam': 'heard

• received by oral tradition', 'mayā': 'by me', 'tāta': 'dear child

• affectionate address (to the listener)', 'ṛṣīṇām': 'of the seers/sages', 'bhāvitātmanām': 'of those with cultivated/purified selves

• self-controlled', 'vāsudevam': 'Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), the divine person being praised', 'kathayatām': 'of those narrating/reciting', 'samavāye': 'in an assembly

• in a gathering', 'purātanam': 'ancient

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Ṛṣis (sages/seers)
• Samavāya (assembly/gathering)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse grounds the forthcoming account in a trustworthy lineage: teachings about Vāsudeva are presented as received through an ancient assembly of self-purified sages, emphasizing ethical authority, disciplined minds, and faithful transmission.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma tells his listener that what he is about to relate is not personal invention; he once heard it in a venerable gathering where great ṛṣis were narrating the ancient glory of Vāsudeva, and he is now repeating that received tradition.