Shloka 41
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
यथा प्राग्र्यान् यथा ज्येष्ठान् यथा शूरांश्व संगतान् । निपातयत्युग्रधन्वा त॑ प्रगृूह्लीत माचिरम्
sañjaya uvāca | yathā prāgryān yathā jyeṣṭhān yathā śūrāṃś ca saṃgatān | nipātayaty ugradhanvā taṃ pragṛhṇīta mā ciram | tad-anantaraṃ śāntanunandano bhīṣmaḥ sarvān mahārathīn uvāca— ‘eṣa bhīmasenaḥ raṇe kruddhaḥ samāgatān prāgryān jyeṣṭhān śūrāṃś ca dhṛtarāṣṭraputrān nipātayati; ataḥ sarve yūyaṃ saṃhatā enam āśu vaśaṃ nayata’ iti |
Sañjaya sprach: „Wie jener grimmige Bogenschütze die Vordersten, die Ältesten und die versammelten Helden niederstreckt, so zügelt ihn sogleich, ohne Verzug.“ Danach wandte sich Bhīṣma, der Sohn Śāntanus, an alle großen Wagenkämpfer: „Dieser Bhīmasena, im Kampf von Zorn entbrannt, fällt die Söhne Dhṛtarāṣṭras—die Vornehmsten, die Älteren und die Tapferen, die ihm entgegentreten—. Darum sollt ihr alle gemeinsam ihn rasch unter Kontrolle bringen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a dharma-framed war, uncontrolled fury becomes a strategic and ethical crisis; leadership responds by urging coordinated restraint and disciplined action rather than panic or isolated heroics.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, enraged, is cutting down prominent Kaurava fighters. Bhīṣma then instructs the assembled mahārathīs to unite and quickly subdue or check Bhīma’s onslaught.