Shloka 41

वृत्ति-सत्सङ्ग-दान-धर्म

Livelihood, Virtuous Association, and Ethics of Giving

Devanagari script

करालकृष्णवर्णश्न रक्तवासास्तथैव च । त॑ यज्ञ सुमहासत्त्वोडदहत्‌ कक्षमिवानल:

Transliteration

karāla-kṛṣṇa-varṇaś ca rakta-vāsās tathaiva ca | taṁ yajñaṁ su-mahā-sattvo dadāha kakṣam ivānalaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“他形貌可怖，肤色黝黑，身披赤衣。那无比强大的存在竟将祭祀本身焚毁，如烈火吞噬枯槁荆棘。”

Word by Word

• कराल: terrible, frightful
• कराल: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कराल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णवर्णः: of black complexion
• कृष्णवर्णः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णवर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• रक्तवासाः: wearing red garments
• रक्तवासाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्तवस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: thus, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यज्ञम्: sacrifice, ritual
• यज्ञम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सुमहासत्त्वः: of very great power/strength
• सुमहासत्त्वः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-महा-सत्त्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ददाह: burned
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह्
• Form: Perfect, 3, Singular

• कक्षम्: dry brushwood/thicket (fuel-mass)
• कक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अनलः: fire
• अनलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• yajña (sacrifice)
• anala (fire)
• kakṣa (thicket/dry brush)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension between ritual authority and destructive power: even a yajña—symbol of dharma and social order—can be ruined when confronted by overwhelming, fearsome force, implying that ethical intent and restraint matter as much as outward ritual.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a terrifying, dark-hued figure dressed in red who burns the ongoing sacrifice, comparing the destruction to fire rapidly consuming a dry thicket.