Shloka 106
धारयिष्याम्यहं प्राणानुत्तरायणकाड्क्षया । ऐश्वर्यभूत: प्राणानामुत्सगों हि यतो मम
sañjaya uvāca | dhārayiṣyāmy ahaṃ prāṇān uttarāyaṇakāṅkṣayā | aiśvaryabhūtaḥ prāṇānām utsargo hi yato mama | ṣaḍ etān niśitair bhīṣmaḥ pravivyādha uttamaiḥ śaraiḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: „Ich werde meine Lebenshauche bewahren, während ich den nördlichen Lauf der Sonne (uttarāyaṇa) erwarte; denn ich besitze die souveräne Macht, das Leben nur dann aufzugeben, wenn ich es selbst will.“ Daraufhin durchbohrte Bhīṣma mit rasiermesserscharfen, vortrefflichen Pfeilen lebenswichtige Stellen, zerschlug selbst Rüstungen und verwundete sechs große Helden schwer: Sātyaki, Bhīmasena, Arjuna, den Sohn Pāṇḍus, Virāṭa, Drupada und dessen Sohn Dhṛṣṭadyumna.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined self-command: Bhīṣma’s famed power to relinquish life at will is framed as an ‘aiśvarya’ (sovereign mastery) exercised in alignment with his vow and sense of dharma—waiting for uttarāyaṇa as an auspicious time. It contrasts inner sovereignty over death with the outer compulsion of war-dharma, where duty can demand severe action.
Sañjaya reports Bhīṣma’s declaration that he will keep himself alive until uttarāyaṇa, since he can choose the moment of death. In the same sequence, Bhīṣma powerfully strikes six prominent Pāṇḍava-aligned warriors—Sātyaki, Bhīma, Arjuna, Virāṭa, Drupada, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—piercing them with sharp arrows that can break through armor and vital points.