Shloka 31

भीष्म–रामजामदग्न्ययुद्धप्रस्थानवर्णनम्

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

Devanagari script

ततो5हमपि शीघ्रास्त्रं समरप्रतिवारणम्‌ | अवासूजं महाबाहो तेडन्तराधिछिता: शतः

Transliteration

tato ’ham api śīghrāstraṃ samaraprativāraṇam | avāsūjaṃ mahābāho te ’ntarādhikṣitāḥ śataḥ ||

Translation

于是我也，噢臂力雄伟者，迅速放出一件用以遏止战阵冲势的利器；其中有一百名战士，被其间隔的覆盖之势所困，当场被击倒。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas
• Form: avyaya

• aham: I
• aham: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad
• Form: gender: (pronoun), case: nominative, number: singular

• api: also, even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api
• Form: avyaya

• śīghram: quickly
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīghra
• Form: gender: neuter, case: accusative, number: singular (used adverbially)

• astram: weapon; missile
• astram: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra
• Form: gender: neuter, case: accusative, number: singular

• samara-prati-vāraṇam: that which wards off (in) battle
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samara-prati-vāraṇa
• Form: gender: neuter, case: accusative, number: singular

• avāsṛjam: I discharged; I released
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-sṛj
• Form: tense: aorist (luṅ), person: 1st, number: singular, voice: parasmaipada

• mahā-bāho: O mighty-armed one
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-bāhu
• Form: gender: masculine, case: vocative, number: singular

• te: they
• te: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad
• Form: gender: masculine, case: nominative, number: plural

• antarā: in between; in the way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: antarā
• Form: avyaya

• dhikṛtāḥ: were repelled/checked; were thwarted
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhikṛta
• Form: participle: past passive participle, gender: masculine, case: nominative, number: plural

• śataḥ: hundreds (in number)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata
• Form: gender: masculine, case: nominative, number: plural (poetic/variant for śatāḥ)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• mahābāhu (addressee, unspecified in this verse)
• śīghrāstra (swift weapon)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when acting within a warrior’s duty, the verse highlights how quickly violence escalates and how a single tactical act can cause large-scale loss—inviting reflection on restraint, proportionality, and responsibility in conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that he released a rapid, battle-checking weapon; in the course of that action, a hundred opponents who came within its intervening range were struck down.