Shloka 42
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
तथैव तावका: सर्वे पुरस्कृत्य यतव्रतम् । शिखण्डिप्रमुखान् पार्थान् योधयन्ति सम संयुगे,इसी प्रकार आपके समस्त योद्धा ब्रह्मचर्य-व्रतका पालन करनेवाले भीष्मको युद्धमें आगे रखकर शिखण्डी आदि पाण्डव महारथियोंका सामना करने लगे
tathaiva tāvakāḥ sarve puraskṛtya yatavratam | śikhaṇḍipramukhān pārthān yodhayanti samaṃ yuge ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Ebenso stellten all deine Krieger Bhīṣma, den Strenggelobten, an die Spitze und lieferten sich im Getümmel einen ebenbürtigen Kampf mit den von Śikhaṇḍin angeführten Pāṇḍava-Helden.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how personal discipline and vows (vrata)—exemplified by Bhīṣma—become sources of authority and morale in war, yet remain entangled with ethical complexity: revered virtue is deployed as an instrument within a violent conflict.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava forces advance with Bhīṣma at their head and engage the Pāṇḍava side, especially the warriors led by Śikhaṇḍin, in a direct and evenly matched confrontation on the battlefield.