Shloka 36

भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash

Devanagari script

नैवं चाहं स्त्रियं जातु न स्त्रीपूर्व कथंचन । हन्यां युधि नरश्रेष्ठ सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते

Transliteration

naiva cāhaṁ striyaṁ jātu na strīpūrvaḥ kathaṁcana | hanyāṁ yudhi naraśreṣṭha satyam etad bravīmi te ||

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు— “నరశ్రేష్ఠా! నేను ఎప్పటికీ స్త్రీని, అలాగే పూర్వం స్త్రీగా ఉన్నవానిని కూడా, ఏ పరిస్థితిలోనూ— యుద్ధమధ్యలో కూడ— సంహరించను. ఇది నీకు నేను సత్యంగా చెబుతున్నాను.”

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• evam: thus, in this way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• aham: I
• aham: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• striyam: a woman
• striyam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• jātu: ever, at any time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• strīpūrvaḥ: one who was formerly a woman
• strīpūrvaḥ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: strīpūrva
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• kathaṃcana: in any way, at all
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃcana

• hanyām: I would kill / I should kill
• Type: Verb
• Root: han
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-liṅ), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• yudhi: in battle
• yudhi: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudh
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• naraśreṣṭha: O best of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraśreṣṭha
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• satyam: truth
• satyam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• etat: this
• etat: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: etad
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• bravīmi: I say, I speak
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū
• Form: Present (Laṭ), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yusmad
• Form: Dative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• नरश्रेष्ठ (addressed interlocutor: “best of men”)
• स्त्री (woman)
• स्त्रीपूर्व (one formerly a woman)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a warrior’s ethical restraint: even amid war, certain targets are considered inviolable. The speaker frames this as a truth-bound commitment, showing how personal vows and dharma-based limits can govern conduct on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva war narrative, a key combatant articulates a firm refusal to kill a woman or someone known to have been a woman previously—an ethical stance that becomes strategically significant in the unfolding battle situations.