Shloka 64
त्वरित: पाण्डवो राजन् मध्यम: श्वेतवाहन: । निजघ्ने तावकं सैन्यं मोहयित्वा पितामहम्,राजन्! इसी बीचमें मध्यम पाण्डव श्वेतवाहन अर्जुन तुरंत ही पितामह भीष्मको मूर्च्छित करके आपकी सेनाका संहार करने लगे
tvaritaḥ pāṇḍavo rājan madhyamaḥ śvetavāhanaḥ | nijaghne tāvakaṃ sainyaṃ mohayitvā pitāmaham ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, the middle Pāṇḍava—Arjuna of the white steeds—swiftly bewildered the grandsire Bhīṣma and then began to strike down your army. In the moral turbulence of war, even the most venerable elder is momentarily overcome, and the warrior’s duty drives the battle onward despite the weight of kinship and reverence.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between reverence for elders and the inexorable demands of kṣatriya-dharma in battle: even a revered grandsire like Bhīṣma can be tactically overcome, and the warrior proceeds with his duty amid moral and emotional complexity.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna (the middle Pāṇḍava, famed for white steeds) swiftly confuses or overpowers Bhīṣma and then attacks the Kaurava forces, causing heavy destruction in the king’s army.