Shloka 483

उपायधर्म-सेनायोगः

Upāya-dharma and Senāyoga: Expedient Ethics & Army Deployment

Devanagari script

आगतं मे मित्रबलं प्रहरध्वमभीतवत्‌ | अपनी सेना उत्कृष्ट अवस्थामें हो या निकृष्ट अवस्थामें

Transliteration

āgataṃ me mitrabalaṃ praharadhvam abhītavat |

Translation

毗湿摩曰：“我之盟军已至。汝等当如无畏者而击。”其旁所示之教诲，重在战场士气：不论己军强弱优劣，亦不论所报真伪，皆可举臂高呼以振众心——“看！敌军在逃！我方友军已到！今当无惧而进攻！”其伦理之张力，在于以宣告（乃至欺诳）为器，用以安定己方、摧折敌志于战争之中。

Word by Word

• आगतम्: has come/arrived
• आगतम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• मे: my/of me
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• मित्रबलम्: the allied/friendly force
• मित्रबलम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मित्र + बल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• प्रहरध्वम्: strike! attack!
• प्रहरध्वम्: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हृ (धातु) (परस्मैपद) → प्रहरति
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), Second, Plural, Parasmaipada

• अभीतवत्: fearlessly, like one unafraid
• अभीतवत्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभीत + वत्
• Form: true

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• mitrabala (allied army)
• śatru (enemy, implied by the accompanying sense)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse urges fearless action supported by confidence in allies; in context it highlights how leadership and speech can shape morale, even raising ethical questions about using true or false proclamations as wartime strategy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma instructs that when allied support arrives—or is announced as arriving—soldiers should be rallied to attack boldly, with shouted claims that the enemy is fleeing and that friendly forces have come.