Shloka 21

Devanagari script

गौतमस्य महर्षेर्य आचार्यस्य शरद्वत: । कार्तिकेय इवाजेय: शरस्तम्बात्‌ सुतो&भवत्‌,गौतमवंशी महर्षि आचार्य शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्य कार्तिकेयकी भाँति सरकण्डोंसे उत्पन्न हुए हैं और उन्हींकी भाँति अजेय भी हैं

Transliteration

gautamasya maharṣer ya ācāryasya śaradvatāḥ | kārtikeya ivājeyaḥ śarastambāt suto 'bhavat ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «Из рода великого мудреца Гаутамы почтенный наставник Шарадват породил сына, явившегося из пучка тростника, — непобедимого, как Картикея. Тем самым раскрывается необычайное, почти божественное происхождение Крипы и его грозная мощь.»

Word by Word

गौतमस्यof Gautama

महर्षेःof the great sage

यःwho

आचार्यस्यof the teacher

शरद्वतःof Śaradvat

कार्तिकेयःKārtikeya

इवlike, as

अजेयःunconquerable

शरस्तम्बात्from a clump of reeds

सुतःa son

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Gautama

Śaradvat

Kārtikeya (Skanda)

Śara-stamba (reed clump)

Kṛpa (implied as the son)

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 how extraordinary origin and proven capability confer moral and social authority: a preceptor-warrior like Kṛpa, born in a wondrous way and described as invincible, should be respected and taken seriously in deliberations about dharma and conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is describing the background and stature of Śaradvat’s son (Kṛpa), emphasizing that he emerged from a reed thicket and is as unconquerable as Kārtikeya, thereby elevating Kṛpa’s standing among the elders and warriors involved in the impending Kurukṣetra war.