Shloka 32

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

यो यो भीष्म॑ नरव्याप्रमभ्येति युधि कश्चन

Transliteration

yo yo bhīṣmaṁ naravyāpram abhyeti yudhi kaścana

Translation

यो यो भीष्मं नरव्याघ्रमभ्येति युधि कश्चन…

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who (whoever)
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भीष्मम्: Bhishma
• भीष्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नरव्याप्रम्: busy with men / engaged in (slaughter of) men
• नरव्याप्रम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नरव्याप्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभ्येति: approaches, advances towards
• अभ्येति: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-इ
• Form: Present, Third, Singular

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• कश्चन: someone, anyone
• कश्चन: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line foregrounds Bhīṣma’s overwhelming martial authority: in a dharma-war setting, confronting a great elder-warrior is not merely a tactical act but an encounter with established prowess and the weight of duty (kṣatriya-dharma), where courage and consequence are inseparable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing how any warrior who comes forward to meet Bhīṣma in combat is entering a direct confrontation with the Kaurava commander, famed for driving and directing men in war.