Shloka 23
तस्मिंस्तु दशमे प्राप्ते दिवसे भरतर्षभ । भीष्मेणैकेन मत्स्येषु पज्चालेषु च संयुगे
sañjaya uvāca |
tasmiṃstu daśame prāpte divase bharatarṣabha |
bhīṣmeṇaikena matsyeṣu pāñcāleṣu ca saṃyuge |
śikṣābalena nihataṃ pitrā tava viśāṃpate ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Stier unter den Bhāratas, als der zehnte Tag herankam, streckte Bhīṣma allein im Kampf gegen die Matsyas und die Pāñcālas unzählige Krieger nieder, allein durch die Macht seiner kriegerischen Schulung. O Herr des Volkes, Bhīṣma, dein ehrwürdiger Ältester, dir wie ein Vater, richtete durch die Kraft seiner disziplinierten Waffenmeisterschaft in jenem großen Krieg ein gewaltiges Blutbad an.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the formidable power of disciplined training (śikṣā-bala) in a kṣatriya context, while implicitly raising the ethical weight of warfare: mastery and duty can produce vast destruction, and the epic’s narration invites reflection on the cost of dharma pursued through battle.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that on the tenth day of the Kurukṣetra war, Bhīṣma alone fought fiercely against forces associated with Matsya and Pañcāla, killing large numbers through his superior training and weapon-skill.