Shloka 14
Adhyāya 107 — बहुयुद्धप्रकरणम्
Multiple Defensive Engagements to Protect Bhīṣma
गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके भयंकर पराक्रमको जाननेके कारण वे लोग उत्साहके साथ कोलाहल और सिंहनाद करते हुए सब ओरसे भीष्मपर आक्रमण करने लगे ।। ततस्तालध्वज: शूर: पाण्डवानां वरूथिनीम् । छादयामास समरे शरै: संनतपर्वभि:,तदनन्तर तालचिह्नित ध्वजावाले शूरवीर भीष्मने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंसे युद्धमें पाण्डवसेनाको आच्छादित कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | gāṇḍīvadhārī arjunake bhayaṅkara parākramako jānane ke kāraṇa ve log utsāha ke sātha kolāhala aura siṃhanāda karate hue saba or se bhīṣma para ākramaṇa karane lage || tataḥ tāladhvajaḥ śūraḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ varūthinīm | chādayāmāsa samare śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Knowing the dreadful prowess of Arjuna, wielder of the Gāṇḍīva, the warriors, filled with zeal, raised a tumult and lion-roars and began to assail Bhīṣma from every side. Then the heroic Bhīṣma, whose banner bore the emblem of the palmyra, covered the Pāṇḍava battle-array in the fight with arrows whose joints were bent.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how recognition of extraordinary prowess (Arjuna’s) intensifies collective resolve, and how a commander (Bhīṣma) responds with disciplined, overwhelming force. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: warriors act from duty and honor, yet those very virtues can accelerate destruction when harnessed to war.
Hearing/knowing Arjuna’s fearsome might, the fighters raise loud battle-cries and surge to attack Bhīṣma from all directions. Bhīṣma, identified by his palmyra-emblem banner, counters by showering the Pāṇḍava formation with a dense volley of arrows, effectively ‘covering’ their army.