Shloka 5

Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse

Devanagari script

इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शा यमदण्डसमप्र भाम्‌ । ज्वलन्तीमग्निवत्‌ संख्ये लेलिहानां समनन्‍्तत:

Transliteration

indrāśani-samasparśā yamadaṇḍa-samaprabhām | jvalantīm agnivat saṅkhye lelihānāṃ samantataḥ ||

Translation

Cú chạm của nó đáng sợ như lôi đình của Indra; hào quang của nó như trượng phạt của Yama. Bừng cháy giữa chiến địa như lửa, sức mạnh ấy dường như liếm sạch máu từ mọi phía.

Word by Word

• इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शा: having a touch like Indra’s thunderbolt
• इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्राशनि-सम-स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• यमदण्डसमप्रभाम्: having a radiance like Yama’s staff
• यमदण्डसमप्रभाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यमदण्ड-सम-प्रभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ज्वलन्तीम्: blazing
• ज्वलन्तीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु) → ज्वलन्त् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अग्निवत्: like fire
• अग्निवत्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्नि + वत् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)

• संख्ये: in battle
• संख्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• लेलिहानाम्: licking (as if licking up)
• लेलिहानाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लेलिह्/लिह् (धातु) → लेलिहान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• समन्ततः: on all sides, everywhere
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Indra
• Yama
• āśani/vajra (thunderbolt)
• yamadaṇḍa (rod of Yama)
• agni (fire)
• śakti (power/weapon, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: when conflict escalates into instruments of death likened to Indra’s vajra and Yama’s daṇḍa, violence becomes impersonal and inexorable, reminding listeners that adharma-driven hostility invites destruction that spares none.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is describing a terrifying, battle-blazing power (śakti/weapon) whose touch is compared to the thunderbolt and whose glow resembles Yama’s punitive staff; it rages like fire in combat, metaphorically ‘licking’ blood in all directions—an image of slaughter and unstoppable force.