Shloka 50
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
रथेषां रथचक्रे च चिक्रीडतुररिंदमौ । वे दोनों शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले तथा अत्यन्त बलवान् थे। अतः एक-दूसरेके घोड़ों, ध्वजाओं, रथके ईषादण्ड तथा पहियोंको बाणोंसे बीधकर खेल-सा करने लगे || ४९ ह ।।
ratheṣāṁ rathacakre ca cikrīḍatur arindamau | tataḥ kruddho mahārāja bhīṣmaḥ praharatāṁ varaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The two foe-subduing heroes sported in battle as if in play, striking with arrows the chariots and even their wheels—piercing horses, standards, the chariot-pole, and the wheels, each testing the other’s mastery. Then, O King, Bhīṣma—foremost among warriors—grew wrathful and prepared to strike in earnest.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the warrior ethos: mastery and restraint can appear as 'play' even amid lethal combat, but unchecked anger quickly escalates the encounter—implying the ethical need to govern wrath even while fulfilling kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya describes two expert combatants exchanging precise arrow-shots at chariots and wheels as a display of skill; then Bhīṣma becomes angry, signaling a shift from sportive testing to more forceful, consequential fighting.