Shloka 56
तावकानां परेषां च यथा युद्धमवर्तत । आपके और पाण्डवोंके सैनिकोंमें जो महान् संहारकारी युद्ध जिस प्रकार हुआ, उसका उसी रूपमें आपसे वर्णन करता हूँ,सम्प्रहस्य ततः श्वेत: सृक्किणी परिसंलिहन् धनुश्विच्छेद भीष्मस्य नवभिर्दशधा शरै: | इसके बाद उन्होंने हँसकर अपने मुँहके दोनों कोनोंको चाटते हुए नौ बाण मारकर भीष्मके धनुषके दस टुकड़े कर दिये
tāvakānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca yathā yuddham avartata | samprahasya tataḥ śvetaḥ sṛkkīṇī pariśaṃlihan dhanuḥ-śvicchedaṃ bhīṣmasya navabhir daśadhā śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “I shall tell you exactly how the battle unfolded between your forces and the enemy’s. Then Śveta, laughing, licked the corners of his mouth and, with nine arrows, shattered Bhīṣma’s bow into ten pieces.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of dharma in war: even when combat is framed as duty, it unleashes destructive momentum where skill and aggression can eclipse reverence for elders. Sañjaya’s insistence on reporting events “as they happened” also reflects the Mahābhārata’s concern with truthful witnessing amid moral complexity.
Sañjaya begins to describe to the king how the fighting proceeded between the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces. In the immediate action, the warrior Śveta, exultant and confident, shoots nine arrows that sever Bhīṣma’s bow into ten pieces, momentarily disarming the great grandsire.