Shloka 19
अम्बा-शाल्वसंवादः | Amba’s Appeal to Śālva and His Refusal
तानहं शरवर्षेण समन्तात् पर्यवारयम् । सर्वान् नृपांश्वाप्पजयं देवराडिव दानवान्
tān ahaṃ śaravarṣeṇa samantāt paryavārayam | sarvān nṛpān śvāpajayaṃ devarāḍ iva dānavān ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ich hielt sie von allen Seiten mit einem Regen von Pfeilen in Schach und stoppte ihren Vormarsch. Und wie Indra, der Herr der Götter, die Dānavas bezwingt, so unterwarf auch ich all jene Könige.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-duty expressed as disciplined martial restraint: Bhīṣma does not merely attack, but strategically contains and subdues opponents, framing victory as the rightful overcoming of disruptive forces—likened to Indra’s triumph over the Dānavas.
Bhīṣma recounts a battle episode in which he halts the advance of multiple kings by surrounding them with a dense volley of arrows, then defeats them, comparing his success to Indra’s victory over the Dānavas.