Shloka 50
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
संजय उवाच एवमुक्क्त्वा ततो भीष्म॑ पञठ्चभिनर्नतपर्वभि: । अविध्यत रणे भीष्म प्रणुन्नं वाक्यसायकै:
sañjaya uvāca evam uktvā tato bhīṣmaṃ pañcabhir nataparvabhiḥ | avidhyat raṇe bhīṣmaṃ praṇunnaṃ vākyasāyakaiḥ ||
قال سنجيا: «أيها الملك، لما قال شيخانْدِن ذلك، طعن بهيشما في ساحة القتال بخمسة سهامٍ معقوفة المفاصل. ذلك بهيشما نفسه—وقد كان من قبلُ مُضغَطًا ومُتألِّمًا بقوة الكلمات كأنها سهام—أُصيب الآن بسهامٍ حقيقية في المعركة».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how speech can function like a weapon—words can ‘wound’ and drive a person even before physical blows land—underscoring ethical responsibility in speech amid conflict.
After speaking, Śikhaṇḍin strikes Bhīṣma in the battle with five arrows described as having bent joints; Sañjaya notes that Bhīṣma was already pressed by ‘word-arrows’ and is now physically pierced.