Shloka 9
Bhīṣma–Jāmadagnya-saṃvādaḥ
Bhishma’s account of the encounter with Rāma Jāmadagnya
ततो जाल॑ बाणमयं विवृत्तं संदृश्य भित्त्वा शरजालेन राजन् | द्वादशेषून् प्राहिणवं रणेडहं ततः शक्तीरप्यधमं घोररूपा:
tato jālaṃ bāṇamayaṃ vivṛttaṃ saṃdṛśya bhittvā śarajālena rājan | dvādaśeṣūn prāhiṇavaṃ raṇe'haṃ tataḥ śaktīr apy adhamam ghorarūpāḥ ||
Dann, o König, als ich ein wirbelndes Netz aus Pfeilen sah, zerschlug ich es mit einem Gegen-Netz aus Schäften. In jener Schlacht schoss ich zwölf Pfeile ab; danach schleuderte ich auch schreckliche Śaktis—Wurfspieße—von furchterregender Gestalt, um den Kampf unerbittlich voranzutreiben.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined martial response: when confronted with an overwhelming missile-formation, the warrior counters with skill and measured escalation. Ethically, it reflects kṣatriya-dharma—meeting aggression with competent defense while maintaining focus and resolve rather than panic.
Bhīṣma narrates a combat moment: he sees an opponent’s revolving ‘net’ of arrows, breaks it by launching his own arrow-net, then follows up by shooting twelve arrows and subsequently hurling terrifying spears to intensify the engagement.