Shloka 826

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

बिभेद समरे तूर्ण प्रेक्ष्य भीष्मं महारथम्‌ | इस प्रकार भीमसेनने महारथी भीष्मकी ओर देखते हुए कलिंगोंकी सेनाको बार-बार समरभूमिमें शीघ्रतापूर्वक विदीर्ण किया

Transliteration

bibheda samare tūrṇaṃ prekṣya bhīṣmaṃ mahāratham |

Translation

三阇耶说道：望见大车战士毗湿摩，毗摩塞那在战场上迅疾地一次又一次撕裂迦陵伽军阵。

Word by Word

• बिभेद: split, pierced, broke
• बिभेद: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद्
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), perfect (completed past), 3, singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• तूर्णम्: swiftly, quickly
• तूर्णम्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूर्ण

• प्रेक्ष्य: having looked at / seeing
• प्रेक्ष्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + ईक्ष्
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), parasmaipada (usage), having looked at

• भीष्मम्: Bhishma
• भीष्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• महारथम्: the great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• Kaliṅga (Kalingas)
• battlefield (samara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethic of decisive action in war: a warrior may keep his attention on a principal adversary (Bhīṣma) while still fulfilling immediate battlefield duty by breaking enemy formations. It also reflects the tragic scale of conflict—personal focus and martial excellence can translate into mass destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, while looking toward Bhīṣma the great chariot-warrior, rapidly and repeatedly shattered the Kalinga troops on the battlefield, indicating Bhīma’s overwhelming force and the intense press of combat around Bhīṣma.