Shloka 426

Devanagari script

भीष्म: श्वेतश्व युयुधे परस्परवधैषिणौ । तदनन्तर वे दोनों पुरुषश्रेष्ठ भीष्म और श्वेत अपने अस्त्रोंद्वारा विपक्षीके अस्त्रोंका निवारण करके एक-दूसरेको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे युद्ध करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ śvetaśva yuyudhe parasparavadhaiṣiṇau | tadanantaraṃ tau dvau puruṣaśreṣṭhau bhīṣmaś ca śvetaś ca svair astrair vipakṣasyāstrāṇi nivārya parasparaṃ hantum icchantau yuddhaṃ cakratuḥ |

Translation

Sanjaya said: Bhishma and Shvetashva fought one another, each intent on the other’s death. Thereafter, those two foremost of men—Bhishma and Shvetashva—checked the enemy’s missiles with their own weapons and engaged in battle, driven by the desire to strike the other down.

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

श्वेतश्वःShvetashva (he whose horses are white)

युयुधेthey fought

परस्पर-वध-एषिणौdesiring each other's killing

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Bhishma

Shvetashva

astras (weapons/missiles)

vipaksha (the opposing side/enemy)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield application of kṣatriya-dharma: disciplined skill (warding off weapons) is directed toward decisive victory. It reflects the tension in epic ethics—restraint and mastery exist alongside the accepted duty to fight lethally when war is deemed unavoidable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a direct duel: Bhishma and Shvetashva counter each other’s missiles with their own weapons and then continue fighting, each determined to kill the other.