Shloka 16

भीष्म–रामजामदग्न्ययुद्धप्रस्थानवर्णनम्

Bhishma’s Account of Parashurama’s Challenge and the March to Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

ग्लायन्तं भरतश्रेष्ठ रामबाणप्रपीडितम्‌ । ततो मामपयातं वै भृशं विद्धमचेतसम्‌

Transliteration

glāyantaṃ bharataśreṣṭha rāma-bāṇa-prapīḍitam | tato mām apayātaṃ vai bhṛśaṃ viddham acetasaṃ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“噢，婆罗多族中最杰出者，我被帕罗修罗摩之箭折磨得精疲力竭。随后，我重伤昏迷，便从战场上退去。见我如此，帕罗修罗摩的随从——如阿克利特伐罗那——以及迦尸王之女安芭，皆欢呼喧嚷，以为大喜之兆。”

Word by Word

• glāyantam: fainting/withering, becoming weak
• glāyantam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: glāy (dhātu)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Śatṛ (present active participle)

• bharata-śreṣṭha: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: bharata + śreṣṭha
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• rāma-bāṇa-prapīḍitam: severely pressed/tormented by Rāma’s arrows
• rāma-bāṇa-prapīḍitam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāma + bāṇa + prapīḍita
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ

• mām: me
• mām: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad
• Form: Accusative, Singular

• apayātam: having withdrawn, retreating
• apayātam: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apa + yā (dhātu)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past active participle (kta), used adjectivally

• vai: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai

• bhṛśam: exceedingly, greatly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhṛśam

• viddham: pierced, wounded
• viddham: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyadh (dhātu) → viddha
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta)

• acetasaṃ: unconscious, senseless
• acetasaṃ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-cetas
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Paraśurāma (Rāma)
• Akṛtavraṇa
• Amba
• King of Kāśī (Kāśirāja)
• Battlefield (raṇabhūmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the human limits even of great warriors and the ethical tension in war: prowess does not erase vulnerability, and opponents or partisans may react with triumph at another’s suffering—an implicit reminder to examine one’s conduct and emotions (dharma) amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma recounts that Paraśurāma’s arrows overwhelmed him; badly wounded and unconscious, he withdrew from the battlefield. Paraśurāma’s followers, along with Amba (who bears hostility toward Bhīṣma), rejoiced loudly upon seeing his condition.