Shloka 8
मम बाहुसहसं तु पश्यतां सैनिका रणे । विक्रमेण महीं कृत्स्नां जयेयं संशितव्रत
bhīṣma uvāca |
mama bāhu-sahasraṃ tu paśyatāṃ sainikā raṇe |
vikrameṇa mahīṃ kṛtsnāṃ jayeyam saṃśita-vrata ||
Bhishma said: “Let the soldiers on the battlefield behold my thousand arms. By my valor, O you of firm and disciplined vows, may I conquer the entire earth.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and victory are not presented as ends in themselves: the request for extraordinary martial strength is ethically bounded by dharma—rightful acquisition, diligent protection of the realm, and willingness to accept correction if one deviates from the true path.
Bhishma recounts a boon-request scene: a sage (noted in the accompanying prose as Dattatreya) is pleased and permits the king to ask for boons. The king asks to have a thousand arms in battle (while remaining two-armed at home), to conquer the whole earth by valor, to rule it according to dharma without laziness, and to receive guidance from the wise if he ever turns toward falsehood.