Shloka 17

Devanagari script

भगुसूनुधरापुत्रौो शशिजेन समन्वितौ । चरम॑ पाण्डुपुत्राणां पुरस्तात्‌ सर्वभूभुजाम्‌,शुक्र और मंगल बुधसे संयुक्त हो पाण्डवोंके पृष्ठभागमें तथा अन्य सब नरेशोंके सम्मुख उदित हुए थे

Transliteration

bhṛgusūnudharāputrau śaśijena samanvitau | caramaṃ pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ purastāt sarvabhūbhujām ||

Translation

ศุกร์ บุตรแห่งภฤคุ และอังคาร บุตรแห่งปฐพี พร้อมด้วยจันทรา ได้ปรากฏขึ้นบนฟากฟ้า—อยู่เบื้องหลังเหล่าบุตรแห่งปาณฑุ และอยู่เบื้องหน้าบรรดากษัตริย์ทั้งปวง

Word by Word

भगुसूनुधरापुत्रौthe two (planets) Venus (son of Bhṛgu) and Mars (son of Earth)

शशिजेनwith Mercury (lit. the moon-born)

समन्वितौaccompanied/associated (together)

चरमम्the last/end (time/phase)

पाण्डुपुत्राणाम्of the sons of Pāṇḍu (the Pāṇḍavas)

पुरस्तात्in front; before

सर्वभूभुजाम्of all kings (earth-enjoyers)

उदितौarose/appeared (were risen)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhṛgu

Śukra (Venus)

Dharā/Pṛthivī (Earth)

Maṅgala (Mars)

Śaśin/Candra (Moon)

Budha (Mercury)

Pāṇḍu

Pāṇḍavas

kings (bhūbhujas)

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?

The verse frames planetary positions as moral-psychological warnings in a dharma narrative: when rulers persist in destructive conflict, the cosmos is depicted as signaling danger, urging restraint, right counsel, and responsibility in kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an astronomical/astrological sign: Venus and Mars, together with Mercury (described as Moon-born), are seen rising in positions described as behind the Pāṇḍavas and before the other kings—an ominous configuration interpreted as a portent amid the Kurukṣetra war.