Shloka 8
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
यस्य वीर्य समाश्रित्य धार्तराष्ट्र विकत्थसे । हन्तास्मि प्रथमं भीष्म मिषतां सर्वधन्विनाम्,'धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र! तू जिनके पराक्रमका आश्रय लेकर बड़ी-बड़ी बातें बनाता है, उन पितामह भीष्मको ही मैं सबसे पहले तेरे समस्त थधरनुर्धरोंके देखते-देखते मार डालूँगा
sañjaya uvāca | yasya vīrya-samāśritya dhārtarāṣṭra vikatthase | hantāsmi prathamaṃ bhīṣma miṣatāṃ sarva-dhanvinām ||
Sañjaya said: “O son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, relying on the prowess of him because of whom you boast so loudly, I shall strike down Bhīṣma first—before the very eyes of all your bowmen.” The utterance frames a moral challenge to arrogance born of borrowed strength and signals the grim resolve that drives the war toward its most revered elders.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques arrogance that depends on another’s strength: boasting “under the shelter” of a mighty protector is ethically hollow. It also highlights the kṣatriya ethos of taking decisive responsibility—directing one’s challenge toward the true pillar of the opposing side rather than hiding behind reputation.
Sañjaya reports a fierce declaration aimed at the Dhārtarāṣṭra camp: the speaker vows to kill Bhīṣma first, and to do so openly in front of all the enemy archers. It foreshadows Bhīṣma’s central role in the coming war and the determination to break the Kauravas’ chief support.