Shloka 74
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
भवन्तं समरे क्रुद्धं दण्डहस्तमिवान्तकम् । युधिष्ठिरने कहा--पितामह! हमलोग युद्धमें दण्डधारी यमराजकी भाँति क्रोधमें भरे हुए आपको जिस प्रकार जीत सकें, वैसा उपाय हमें आप ही बताइये ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
bhavantaṃ samare kruddhaṃ daṇḍahastam ivāntakam |
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—pitāmaha! vayam yuddhe daṇḍadhārī yamarāja iva krodhena pūrṇaṃ bhavantaṃ yathā jayet, tādṛśam upāyaṃ asmān bhavān eva brūyāt ||
śakyo vajradharo jetuṃ varuṇo ’tha yamas tathā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather! In battle you blaze with wrath like Death himself, staff in hand. Tell us yourself the means by which we might overcome you in war. Even Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt, and likewise Varuṇa and Yama, can be conquered—so too, tell us how you may be.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in righteous war, victory should not be pursued through blind hatred; Yudhiṣṭhira’s appeal shows ethical restraint and reverence—he seeks a lawful, disclosed means rather than treachery, acknowledging Bhīṣma’s near-invincibility and the moral weight of fighting an elder.
On the battlefield, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Grandfather’ and admits that Bhīṣma appears like Death itself in wrath. He asks Bhīṣma to reveal the method by which the Pāṇḍavas can defeat him, invoking even great gods (Indra, Varuṇa, Yama) as conquerable—implying that Bhīṣma too has a vulnerable point or condition.