Shloka 456

भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः

Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas

Devanagari script

पातयामास भीष्मस्य धनुश्कछित्त्वा शितै: शरै: । तब कुन्तीकुमारने मेघके समान गम्भीर घोष करनेवाले अपने दिव्य धनुषको हाथमें लेकर तीखे बाणोंद्वारा भीष्मके धनुषको काट गिराया

Transliteration

pātayāmāsa bhīṣmasya dhanuḥ kṛcchitvā śitaiḥ śaraiḥ | tadā kuntīkumāro meghake samāna-gambhīra-ghoṣaṃ karṇevāle svam divya-dhanuḥ hastam ānīya tīkṣṇa-bāṇair bhīṣmasya dhanuḥ chittvā pātayāmāsa |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Da nahm der Sohn der Kuntī seinen göttlichen Bogen zur Hand, der mit tiefem Dröhnen wie Gewitterwolken widerhallte, und schnitt mit scharfen Pfeilen Bhīṣmas Bogen entzwei, sodass er zu Boden fiel. Im moralischen Gefüge der Schlacht zeigt diese Tat disziplinierte Kriegskunst: Sie zielt darauf, die Waffe des Gegners außer Gefecht zu setzen, statt sich in tollkühnes Schlachten zu verlieren—Krieg, geführt mit Fokus, Maß und Zweck unter den Forderungen des Dharma auf dem Schlachtfeld.

Word by Word

पातयामासcaused to fall / felled

भीष्मस्यof Bhishma

धनुःbow

कच्छित्त्वाhaving cut

शितैःwith sharp

शरैःarrows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Kuntīkumāra (Arjuna)

divine bow

arrows

Bhīṣma’s bow

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, action should be purposeful and disciplined: disabling an adversary’s capacity to harm (cutting the bow) reflects controlled force aligned with kṣatriya-dharma rather than uncontrolled violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna (Kuntī’s son) seizing his divine, thunderous bow and, with sharp arrows, cutting Bhīṣma’s bow so that it falls—an episode highlighting Arjuna’s precision and the intensity of the Kurukṣetra battle.