Shloka 12

Devanagari script

चिन्तयित्वा महाबाहु: पिता देवव्रतस्तव । अभ्याशस्थं महाराज पाण्डवं वाक्यमब्रवीत्‌

Transliteration

cintayitvā mahābāhuḥ pitā devavratas tava | abhyāśasthaṃ mahārāja pāṇḍavaṃ vākyam abravīt ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“沉思之后，臂力雄伟的提婆弗罗多（毗湿摩）——大王，你的尊长——对站在近旁的般度族人开口。大王，他心想：‘愿我在此战中不致造成无数贤杰的屠戮’，便对坚战（由提施提罗）说出言辞——这表明他从单纯的武功胜势转向克制与担当，在战火之中自守其责。”

Word by Word

• {'cintayitvā': 'having thought, having reflected', 'mahābāhuḥ': 'mighty-armed

• a heroic epithet', 'pitā': 'father (here: your father/elder, used honorifically for Bhīṣma in relation to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'devavrataḥ': 'Devavrata

• Bhīṣma’s personal name', 'tava': 'your', 'abhyāśastham': 'standing near

• stationed close by', 'mahārāja': 'O great king', 'pāṇḍavam': 'the Pāṇḍava (here: Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'vākyam': 'speech, words', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Devavrata (Bhīṣma)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Kurukṣetra (battlefield context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a righteous war, a leader must reflect on the moral cost of violence. Bhīṣma’s thought—avoiding the needless killing of many worthy men—highlights dharmic restraint and accountability, not merely victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma (Devavrata), after reflecting, approaches and speaks to the nearby Pāṇḍava—understood as Yudhiṣṭhira—setting up counsel that frames the battle in ethical terms.