Shloka 65
शिखण्डी तु समासाद्य भरतानां पितामहम् | इषुभिस्तूर्णमव्यग्रो बहुभि: स समाचिनोत्,उसी समय शिखण्डीने भरतकुलके पितामह भीष्मके सामने पहुँचकर स्वस्थचित्तसे अनेक बाणोंद्वारा तुरंत ही उन्हें आच्छादित कर दिया
śikhaṇḍī tu samāsādya bharatānāṁ pitāmaham | iṣubhis tūrṇam avyagro bahubhiḥ sa samācinot ||
Sañjaya said: Then Śikhaṇḍī, having come face to face with the grandsire of the Bharatas, swiftly covered him over with many arrows, remaining steady and unconfused. In the moral atmosphere of the battle, the act signals the deliberate targeting of Bhīṣma through a warrior whom Bhīṣma would not strike—an ethically charged tactic where strategy exploits a vow and personal dharma amid the necessities of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how personal dharma and vows shape battlefield ethics: Bhīṣma’s restraint toward Śikhaṇḍī becomes a strategic opening, showing that in war, moral commitments can be both noble and tactically consequential.
Śikhaṇḍī advances directly before Bhīṣma and rapidly showers him with many arrows, while remaining composed; Sañjaya reports this as part of the unfolding confrontation that leads toward Bhīṣma’s downfall.