Shloka 47
अथार्जुनो रणे भीम॑ योधयन्तं महारथान्,भरतनन्दन! उस रणक्षेत्रमें भीम जिनके साथ युद्ध कर रहे थे, आपके पक्षके उन दस महारथी वीरोंके सामने भीष्मके वधकी इच्छा रखनेवाले अर्जुन भी शिखण्डीको आगे किये आ पहुँचे
sañjaya uvāca | athārjuno raṇe bhīmaṃ yodhayantaṃ mahārathān bharatanandana | tasmin raṇakṣetre bhīmena saha yuddhyamānān tava pakṣīyān daśa mahārathān vīrān prati bhīṣmavadhecchur arjuno'pi śikhaṇḍinaṃ puraskṛtya samupāgamat |
Sañjaya said: Then Arjuna, O joy of the Bharatas, intent on Bhishma’s death, advanced on the battlefield with Shikhandi placed in front of him, confronting those ten great chariot-warriors of your side whom Bhima was already engaging in combat. The move signals a deliberate ethical and tactical choice: Arjuna seeks to overcome Bhishma by using the one presence Bhishma will not strike, thereby turning a moral constraint within war into a decisive strategy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma in war includes constraints and vows that shape action. Arjuna’s aim (ending Bhishma’s dominance) is pursued by leveraging Bhishma’s ethical restraint toward Shikhandi, showing that moral commitments can decisively influence outcomes—sometimes becoming the very means by which a seemingly invincible warrior is overcome.
Bhima is already battling ten elite Kaurava chariot-warriors. At that moment Arjuna arrives, determined to bring about Bhishma’s fall, and advances with Shikhandi positioned in front—setting up the well-known episode where Bhishma refuses to fight Shikhandi, allowing Arjuna to strike.