Shloka 4

भीष्मव्यूहदर्शनम् / Viewing Bhīṣma’s Battle Array and Arjuna’s Reassurance

Devanagari script

अक्षोभ्योडयमभेद्यक्ष भीष्मेणामित्रकर्षिणा । कल्पित: शास्त्रदृष्टेन विधिना भूरिवर्चसा,“महातेजस्वी शत्रुसूदन भीष्मने शास्त्रीय विधिके अनुसार यह अक्षोभ्य एवं अभेद्य व्यूह रचा है

Transliteration

akṣobhyo ’yam abhedyaś ca bhīṣmeṇāmitrakarṣiṇā | kalpitaḥ śāstradṛṣṭena vidhinā bhūrivarcasā ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Diese Schlachtordnung, unerschütterlich und undurchdringlich, ist von Bhīṣma —dem Mächtigen, der den Feind niederdrückt— nach Regel und Methode aufgestellt worden, wie sie die Kriegskunstschriften vorschreiben. Es ist eine disziplinierte Aufstellung, fest gegen den Angriff und schwer zu durchbrechen.“

Word by Word

अक्षोभ्यःunshakable, unagitated

अयम्this

अभेद्यःimpenetrable, unbreakable

भीष्मेणby Bhishma

अमित्रकर्षिणाby the enemy-harasser

कल्पितःwas arranged/formed

शास्त्रदृष्टेनseen/laid down in the treatises

विधिनाby the method/procedure

भूरिवर्चसाby one of great splendor/energy

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

vyūha (battle formation)

śāstra (martial treatises)

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 warfare, action is portrayed as governed by discipline and prescribed method (śāstra-vidhi). Power is not merely brute force; it is organized, rule-bound strength—raising ethical questions about how duty (kṣatriya-dharma) is pursued through regulated means.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma has arranged a formidable, hard-to-break battle formation (vyūha), explicitly emphasizing that it is constructed according to recognized strategic treatises and proper procedure.