Shloka 76
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
आदित्याश्रैव रुद्राश्न॒ साध्याश्न वसुभि: सह,शचीवल्लभ इन्द्र! पहले जब देवासुरसंग्राम हुआ था, उस समयकी बात तुम्हें अच्छी तरह याद होगी। मैंने अकेले ही समस्त आदित्यों, रुद्रों, साध्यों, वसुओं तथा मरुद्गणोंको परास्त किया था
ādityāś caiva rudrāś ca sādhyāś ca vasubhiḥ saha | śacīvallabha indra! pūrvaṃ yadā devāsura-saṅgrāmo 'bhavat tadā te su-smṛtaṃ bhaviṣyati | mayā ekenaiva samastā ādityā rudrāḥ sādhyā vasavaś ca marudgaṇāś ca parājitāḥ ||
शचीवल्लभ इन्द्र! पूर्वं देवासुरसमागमे। मयैकेनैव जिताः सर्वे आदित्या रुद्रसाध्यवसवो मरुतां गणाश्च॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the epic theme of extraordinary prowess and the authority of remembered precedent: Bhīṣma invokes a past cosmic conflict to establish credibility and emphasize how power, when concentrated in a single disciplined agent, can overturn even vast collectives—an implicit caution about underestimating a resolute individual.
Bhīṣma addresses Indra directly, reminding him of an earlier devas–asuras war and claiming that he alone defeated multiple classes of gods (Ādityas, Rudras, Sādhyas, Vasus, and Maruts), thereby asserting his own might and the reliability of his recollection.