Shloka 8
अकरोद् दुष्करं कर्म रणे पाण्डुसुतेषु यः । ग्रसमानमनीकानि य एन॑ पर्यवारयन्,जिन्होंने युद्धमें पाण्डवोंपर दुष्कर पराक्रम किया था तथा जो उनकी सेनाका निरन्तर संहार कर रहे थे, उन अस्त्रविद्याके ज्ञाता दुर्जय वीर भीष्मजीको जिन्होंने रोका है, वे कौन हैं? संजय! तुम तो उनके पास ही थे, पाण्डवोंने युद्धमें शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मको किस प्रकार आगे बढ़नेसे रोका?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | akarod duṣkaraṃ karma raṇe pāṇḍusuteṣu yaḥ | grasamānam anīkāni ya enaṃ paryavārayan |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Who were those that checked Bhīṣma—he who performed deeds hard to accomplish against the sons of Pāṇḍu in battle, and who, as he advanced, was continually consuming the opposing battle-formations? Sañjaya, you were there near him; tell me how the Pāṇḍavas restrained Śāntanu’s son Bhīṣma from pressing forward.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between individual martial prowess and collective restraint in war: even an invincible hero can be checked by coordinated effort, reminding readers that power in battle is shaped by strategy, duty, and the larger moral-political order (kṣatriya-dharma).
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of Bhīṣma’s fierce advance and destruction of opposing ranks, asks Sañjaya to identify who managed to stop or contain Bhīṣma and by what means the Pāṇḍavas prevented him from continuing to press forward.