Shloka 36
ते वध्यमाना भीष्मेण प्रजहुस्तं महाबलम्,जिघांसन्तं युधां श्रेष्ठ तदा55सीत् तुमुलं महत् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! पाण्डवपक्षके लाखों क्षत्रियशिरोमणि महारथी विराट सेनापति शूरवीर श्वेतको आगे करके आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनको अपना बल दिखाते हुए शिखण्डीको सामने रखकर भीष्मके सुवर्णभूषित रथपर चढ़ आये। भारत! वे महारथी श्लेतकी रक्षा करना चाहते थे। इसलिये उसे मारनेकी इच्छावाले योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ भीष्मपर उन्होंने धावा किया। उस समय बड़ा भयंकर युद्ध छिड़ गया
te vadhyamānā bhīṣmeṇa prajahus taṁ mahābalam | jighāṁsantaṁ yudhāṁ śreṣṭha tadā āsīt tumulaṁ mahat ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, as they were being struck down by Bhīṣma, they abandoned that mighty warrior. When Bhīṣma—the foremost of fighters, intent on slaying—pressed the attack, a vast and tumultuous battle erupted.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh ethical tension of kṣatriya warfare: even the ‘best of fighters’ acts with lethal intent, and the battlefield compels sudden shifts—abandonment, retreat, and renewed escalation—showing how violence rapidly expands into uncontrollable turmoil.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma is striking down opposing warriors; amid this pressure they leave behind a mighty fighter, while Bhīṣma—intent on killing—drives the conflict into a massive, chaotic clash.