Shloka 23

श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः

Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma

Devanagari script

भ्रुवोरनन्तरास्तस्य ग्रहा दानवसत्तम । नक्षत्रचक्रं नेत्राभ्यां पादयोर्भूश्न दानव

Transliteration

bhruvor anantarās tasya grahā dānavasattama | nakṣatracakraṃ netrābhyāṃ pādayor bhūśna dānava ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను— ఓ దానవశ్రేష్ఠా! గ్రహములు ఆయన రెండు భ్రూవుల మధ్య సమీపముగా నిలిచియున్నవి; నక్షత్రచక్రము ఆయన రెండు నేత్రాలలో ప్రకాశిస్తుంది; ఓ దానవా, భూమి ఆయన పాదముల యందే ఉంది.

Word by Word

• भ्रुवोः: of (his) two eyebrows
• भ्रुवोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रू
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Dual

• अनन्तराः: immediately following; close by
• अनन्तराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• ग्रहाः: planets
• ग्रहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दानवसत्तम: O best of the Dānavas
• दानवसत्तम: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: दानव-सत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नक्षत्रचक्रम्: the circle of constellations (zodiac)
• नक्षत्रचक्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र-चक्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• नेत्राभ्याम्: with (his) two eyes
• नेत्राभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Dual

• पादयोः: of (his) two feet
• पादयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• भूः: the earth
• भूः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• स्न: (textually uncertain particle; possibly corruption)
• स्न: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्न

• दानव: O Dānava
• दानव: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun (vocative)
• Root: दानव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Dānava (unnamed addressee)
• grahāḥ (planets)
• nakṣatra-cakra (circle of constellations)
• bhū (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses cosmic imagery to express overwhelming greatness and sovereignty: the ruler/being described is portrayed as containing the order of the heavens (planets and constellations) and the earth itself. Ethically, it reinforces reverence for a dharmically established authority whose power is aligned with cosmic order (ṛta/dharma), not mere brute force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a Dānava and describes an extraordinary figure through a ‘cosmic-body’ metaphor: planets near the eyebrows, the stellar wheel in the eyes, and the earth at the feet. The passage functions as a heightened, visionary description meant to awe the listener and indicate the subject’s vast, world-encompassing stature.