Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 25

भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः

Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead

Devanagari script

दुःशासनो महाराज भयं त्यक्त्वा महारथ:

Transliteration

duḥśāsano mahārāja bhayaṃ tyaktvā mahārathaḥ

Translation

三阇耶说道：“大王啊，杜沙娑那——那位强大的战车勇士——抛却恐惧……”

Word by Word

• दुःशासनः: Duhshasana (proper name)
• दुःशासनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःशासन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• महारथः: the great chariot-warrior
• महारथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duḥśāsana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the warrior-ideal of fearlessness in battle: a kṣatriya is expected to set aside personal fear and act according to martial duty, even when the cause and consequences are morally fraught.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues his battlefield report to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, introducing Duḥśāsana as a leading fighter who, abandoning fear, moves forward in the combat sequence being described.