Shloka 40

Devanagari script

व्रियतां च वर: पार्थ किमस्मत्तो5भिकड्क्षसि । एवंगते महाराज न तवास्ति पराजय:,पार्थ! वर माँगो। तुम मुझसे क्या चाहते हो? महाराज! ऐसी स्थितिमें तुम्हारी पराजय नहीं होगी

Transliteration

vriyatāṁ ca varaḥ pārtha kim asmatto ’bhikāṅkṣasi | evaṁgate mahārāja na tavāsti parājayaḥ |

Translation

భీష్ముడు అన్నాడు—ఓ పార్థా, వరం కోరుకో; నన్ను ఏది కోరుతున్నావు? ఓ మహారాజా, విషయం ఇంతదాకా వచ్చాక నీకు పరాజయం ఉండదు.

Word by Word

व्रियताम्let (it) be chosen / choose

चand

वरःa boon

पार्थO Partha (Arjuna)

किम्what

अस्मत्तःfrom me

अभिकाङ्क्षसिyou desire / you wish for

एवम्thus

गतेwhen (things have) gone / in this situation

महाराजO great king

नnot

तवof you / for you

अस्तिis

पराजयःdefeat

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Mahārāja (addressed king)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, dharma expresses itself through truthfulness, honor, and keeping one’s word: Bhīṣma, though fighting for the Kauravas by vow, still upholds a warrior’s integrity by offering a boon and acknowledging the moral and strategic inevitability of the outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses Pārtha and invites him to ask for a boon, stating that given the present situation the addressed king will not face defeat—signaling a decisive shift in the battle’s trajectory and Bhīṣma’s recognition of the approaching resolution.