Shloka 196
अमर्षवशमापन्नो योधयामास सृञ्जयान् । राजन्! तब आपके पितृतुल्य शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्म बाणोंकी मार खाकर अमर्षमें भर गये और सृंजयोंके साथ युद्ध करने लगे
amarṣavaśam āpanno yodhayāmāsa sṛñjayān | rājan, tava pitṛtulyaḥ śāntanunandano bhīṣmo bāṇānāṁ mārāṁ khātvā amarṣeṇa samapūryata, sṛñjayaiś ca saha yuddhaṁ cakāra |
Sañjaya said: Overpowered by indignation, he engaged the Sṛñjayas in battle. O King, your father-like elder, Bhīṣma—the son of Śāntanu—having been struck by volleys of arrows, became filled with fierce wrath and fought the Sṛñjayas head-on. The passage highlights how even a venerable guardian of dharma can be driven by battlefield provocation into intense combat, illustrating the moral tension between restraint and the warrior’s duty amid war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a key ethical tension in the epic: even a revered elder committed to dharma can be swept up by amarṣa (indignant anger) when provoked, yet still acts within the frame of kṣatriya-duty on the battlefield. It invites reflection on self-control versus the obligations of one’s role in a just or fated war.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, after being hit by many arrows, becomes enraged and turns to fight the Sṛñjaya warriors intensely, escalating the combat on the Kurukṣetra field.