Shloka 27

भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash

Devanagari script

राज्ञ: समाज्ञापयत सेनां योजयतेति ह । अद्य भीष्मो रणे क्रुद्धों निहनिष्यति सोमकान्‌,भूपाल! वहाँ जाकर राजाने सुखसे रात बितायी और सबेरा होनेपर उसने प्रात:काल उठकर राजाओंको यह आज्ञा दी--'राजसिंहो! तुम सब लोग सेनाको युद्धके लिये तैयार करो, आज पितामह भीष्म रणभूमिमें कुपित होकर सोमकोंका संहार करेंगे”

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | rājñaḥ samājñāpayat senāṃ yojayateti ha | adya bhīṣmo raṇe kruddho nihaniṣyati somakān bhūpāla |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Der König erließ den Befehl: ‚Das Heer soll aufgestellt werden.‘ Denn heute, o Herr der Erde, wird Bhīṣma—im Zorn auf dem Schlachtfeld—die Somakas niederstrecken.“

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'rājñaḥ': 'of the king', 'samājñāpayat': 'ordered, commanded', 'senām': 'army', 'yojayata': 'array (for battle), organize, deploy', 'iti ha': 'thus indeed (quotative emphasis)', 'adya': 'today', 'bhīṣmaḥ': 'Bhīṣma (the grandsire, commander)', 'raṇe': 'in battle, on the battlefield', 'kruddhaḥ': 'angry, enraged', 'nihaniṣyati': 'will slay, will strike down', 'somakān': 'the Somakas (Pāñcāla-aligned warriors/lineage)', 'bhūpāla': 'O protector of the earth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• the king (Duryodhana, implied in context)
• Bhīṣma
• Somakas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how quickly war becomes driven by command and emotion: a king’s order mobilizes collective violence, and a great warrior’s anger becomes a force that intensifies destruction. It invites reflection on dharma under pressure—how duty and loyalty can coexist with morally troubling outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the king has ordered the army to be arranged for battle, and that Bhīṣma, enraged, is expected to attack and kill the Somakas that day—signaling a fierce phase of the Kurukṣetra fighting.