Shloka 77
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
मया विनिर्जिता: पूर्व मरुतश्न शचीपते । त्वमेव शक्र जानासि देवासुरसमागमे
mayā vinirjitāḥ pūrvaṁ marutaś ca śacīpate | tvam eva śakra jānāsi devāsura-samāgame || śacī-vallabha indra! pūrve yadā devāsura-saṅgrāmo 'bhavat tadā tvaṁ tat suṣṭhu smarasi | mayā ekenaiva sarve ādityāḥ rudrāḥ sādhyāḥ vasavaś ca marud-gaṇāś ca parājitāḥ |
毗湿摩说道：“往昔啊，舍脂之主，我连摩鲁特众也曾降伏。唯有你，释迦，最清楚诸天与阿修罗在战场相会时发生的一切。噢，因陀罗，舍脂所钟爱者——那场天与阿修罗之战爆发之际，你记得分明：我独自击败了阿底提耶众、鲁陀罗众、萨陀耶众、婆苏众，以及摩鲁特的诸军。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the use of remembered precedent and credible testimony to establish authority in counsel: Bhishma invokes a past cosmic battle known to Indra to validate his own prowess and the seriousness of the matter at hand. Ethically, it highlights how reputation and proven capability are used to persuade, while also warning that power can be asserted through narrative control and selective remembrance.
Bhishma addresses Indra directly, reminding him of an earlier Deva–Asura conflict. He claims that in that encounter he single-handedly overcame major classes of gods—Adityas, Rudras, Sadhyas, Vasus, and the Maruts—using Indra’s own memory as corroboration.