Shloka 10
जगदू वितिमिरं चापि प्रदीप्तमकरोत् तदा
jagad u vitimiraṃ cāpi pradīptam akarot tadā | pṛthvīnātha! devatābhir evaṃ ukte atriṇā andhakāraṃ dūra-karasya candramasaḥ rūpaṃ dhṛtaṃ, sa ca someva darśane priyaḥ babhūva | sa śānta-bhāvena devatāḥ praty apaśyat | tasmin kāle candrasūryayoḥ prabhāṃ mandāṃ dṛṣṭvā atriṇā svasya tapasā raṇabhūmau prakāśaḥ prasāritaḥ, sarvaṃ jagad andhakāra-śūnyaṃ ca ālokitaṃ ca kṛtam |
भीष्म उवाच— पृथ्वीनाथ! देवैरेवं ब्रुवद्भिः स मुनिरत्रिः तमोऽपनोदकं चन्द्ररूपं समास्थाय सोम इव प्रियदर्शनः अभवत्। स शान्तचित्तो देवान् प्रत्यवेक्षत। तदा चन्द्रसूर्ययोः प्रभां मन्दां दृष्ट्वा, स्वतपसा स युद्धभूमौ प्रकाशं प्रससार; जगच्च सर्वं वितिमिरं कृत्वा आलोकपूर्णं चकार।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical and spiritual idea that inner discipline (tapas) can restore order and clarity when natural supports fail. Atri’s calm, beneficent use of ascetic power models restraint and service: power is meant to remove darkness—literal and symbolic—rather than to dominate.
The gods appeal for help; Atri responds by taking on a moon-like form that dispels darkness. When the moon and sun appear dim, he amplifies illumination through his austerities, spreading light over the battlefield and making the world bright again.