Shloka 85
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
अग्रय: प्रहरणानां च खड््गो माद्रवतीसुत । महेश्वरप्रणीतश्न पुराणे निश्चयं गत:
agrayaḥ praharaṇānāṃ ca khaḍgo mādravatīsuta | maheśvarapraṇītaś ca purāṇe niścayaṃ gataḥ || etāni caiva nāmāni purāṇe niścitāni vai |
毗湿摩说道：“噢，摩陀罗伐底之子，剑在诸般兵器中为最上。最初使其运转并加以运用者，乃大自在天（鲁陀罗，Maheśvara）；诸《往世书》亦已断然确立其卓越无上。诚然，这些名号与称谓，在往世书传统中也被宣示为固定而具权威的。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a hierarchy of weapons in which the sword is declared supreme, grounding that claim not merely in battlefield utility but in sacred precedent: Maheśvara (Rudra) is presented as the primordial exemplar, and the Purāṇas are cited as the authoritative source confirming this valuation.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during Śānti Parva, he addresses the listener as “son of Mādravatī” and explains that the sword’s superiority is an established Purāṇic conclusion, adding that the relevant names/designations have been fixed in the Purāṇic record.