Shloka 50

Devanagari script

नाभिसंधत्त पाज्चाल्ये स्मयमानो मुहुर्मुहु: । स्त्रीत्वं तस्यानुसंस्कृत्य भीष्मो बाणात्‌ शिखण्डिने

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nābhisaṃdhatta pāñcālye smayamāno muhur muhuḥ | strītvaṃ tasyānusaṃskṛtya bhīṣmo bāṇāt śikhaṇḍine ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Smiling again and again, Bhīṣma did not aim his arrows at the Pāñcāla prince, Śikhaṇḍin. Remembering Śikhaṇḍin’s womanhood, Bhīṣma held back and would not shoot at him—so, even amid the fury of battle, he kept faith with his personal code of whom it was righteous to strike.

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अभिसंधत्त: he aimed/shot (at), he directed (weapons)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-सम्-धा
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पाञ्चाल्ये: in/at the Panchala (i.e., Shikhandin, the Panchala prince)
• पाञ्चाल्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाञ्चाल्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• स्मयमानः: smiling
• स्मयमानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मयमान
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मुहुः: again and again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः

• मुहुः: again and again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः

• स्त्रीत्वम्: womanhood/femaleness
• स्त्रीत्वम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्रीत्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/of that (person)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अनुसंस्कृत्य: having recalled/considered (lit. having re-formed in mind)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-सम्-√कृ
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बाणात्: from/with (his) arrow(s); by means of arrows (instrumental sense in context)
• बाणात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• शिखण्डिने: to/against Shikhandin
• शिखण्डिने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Śikhaṇḍin
• Pāñcāla

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, Bhīṣma maintains a self-imposed ethical boundary: remembering Śikhaṇḍin’s womanhood, he refuses to target him. The verse highlights dharma as restraint and fidelity to one’s vows, not merely battlefield success.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, though fighting fiercely, does not aim arrows at Śikhaṇḍin. He repeatedly smiles and holds back, because he considers it improper to strike someone he regards as female, thereby allowing Śikhaṇḍin to stand before him without being attacked.