Shloka 4

Devanagari script

महाराज! प्रचण्ड वेगसे प्रहार करनेवाले इन काम्बोजनरेशके रथियोंके समुदायमें काम्बोजदेशीय सैनिकोंकी श्रेणी टिड्डियोंके दल-सी दृष्टिगोचर होती है ।। नीलो माहिष्मतीवासी नीलवर्मा रथस्तव । रथवंशेन कदन शत्रूणां वै करिष्यति

Transliteration

mahārāja! pracaṇḍa-vegena prahāra-karaṇeśu eteṣāṃ kāmboja-nareśa-rathināṃ samūhe kāmboja-deśīya-sainikānāṃ śreṇī ṭiḍḍikā-dala-sī dṛśyate. nīlo māhiṣmatī-vāsī nīla-varmā rathas tava; ratha-vaṃśena kadanaṃ śatrūṇāṃ vai kariṣyati.

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Hỡi đại vương, giữa những đoàn chiến xa của vị vua Kamboja—những người ra đòn với tốc lực cuồng mãnh—hàng ngũ binh sĩ Kamboja hiện ra như một bầy châu chấu. Lại nữa, Nīla, người ở thành Māhiṣmatī, khoác giáp xanh, là chiến xa dũng tướng của bệ hạ; nhờ uy lực của dòng dõi chiến xa, ông ấy quả sẽ gieo thảm sát lên quân thù.”

Word by Word

नीलःNīla (proper name)

माहिष्मतीवासीresident of Māhiṣmatī

नीलवर्माNīlavarman (proper name)

रथःchariot

तवof you/your

रथवंशेनby (his) chariot-lineage / by the chariot-clan

कदनम्slaughter, destruction

शत्रूणाम्of enemies

वैindeed, surely

करिष्यतिwill do/make

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Mahārāja (addressed king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)

Kāmboja (people/region)

Kāmboja-nareśa (king of Kamboja)

Nīla

Māhiṣmatī

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 underscores the epic ethic of kṣatriya warfare: leaders assess forces, recognize capable allies, and speak of martial prowess as a duty-bound instrument for protecting one’s side—while also hinting at the grave human cost through imagery of overwhelming numbers and impending slaughter.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is describing the assembled forces, highlighting the Kāmboja contingents as numerous and swift-striking, and then pointing out Nīla of Māhiṣmatī—blue-armoured and famed by lineage—as a chariot-warrior on the king’s side who will inflict heavy losses on the enemy.