Shloka 5
भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः
Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead
विराटद्रुपदौ वृद्धौ कुन्तिभोजश्च दंशित: । अभ्यद्रवन्त गाड़ेयं पुत्रस्य तव पश्यत:,दोनों वृद्ध नरेश विराट और द्रुपद तथा कवचधारी कुन्तिभोज भी आपके पुत्रके देखते- देखते गंगानन्दन भीष्मपर टूट पड़े
virāṭa-drupadau vṛddhau kuntibhojaś ca daṁśitaḥ | abhyadravant gāṅgeyaṁ putrasya tava paśyataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The aged kings Virāṭa and Drupada, and Kuntibhoja too, clad in armor, charged straight at Bhīṣma, the son of the Gaṅgā—before your son’s very eyes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding force of kṣatriya duty in wartime: even respected elders, despite age and status, act decisively in battle when aligned to a cause. It also implicitly critiques the tragic scope of the war—so grave that it draws venerable kings into direct violence against an elder like Bhīṣma.
Sañjaya reports that Virāṭa and Drupada—both elderly kings—together with the armored Kuntibhoja, rush to attack Bhīṣma (Gāṅgeya). This occurs in full view of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, emphasizing the immediacy and intensity of the battlefield confrontation.