Shloka 12

भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः

Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed

Devanagari script

तामापतन्तीं सहसा तस्य बाहुबलेरिताम्‌

Transliteration

tām āpatantīṁ sahasā tasya bāhubaleritām

Translation

तामापतन्तीं सहसा तस्य बाहुबलेरिताम् ॥

Word by Word

• ताम्: her / that (woman)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• आपतन्तीम्: falling upon / rushing at
• आपतन्तीम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आपत् (धातु: पत्/आपत्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• सहसा: suddenly
• सहसा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा

• तस्य: of him / his
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• बाहुबल-ईरिताम्: impelled/driven by (his) arm-strength
• बाहुबल-ईरिताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाहुबल + ईरित (√ईर्/ईरय्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• an unspecified feminine-referred object/weapon (tām)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores how, in the battlefield ethos, outcomes are driven by deliberate human agency—here, the decisive projection of force through disciplined martial strength—highlighting the ethical weight of choosing to unleash violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes an object—most plausibly a weapon previously identified—suddenly descending or rushing toward its target, propelled by the arm-power of a particular warrior.