Shloka 52
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
ततोर्'्जुनो भृशं क्रुद्धों निविद्धं प्रेक्ष्य माधवम्,इति श्रीमहा भारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि भीष्मार्जुनयुद्धे द्विपज्चाशत्तमोडध्याय:
tato 'rjuno bhṛśaṁ kruddho nividdhaṁ prekṣya mādhavam | iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi bhīṣmārjunayuddhe dvipañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Arjuna, greatly enraged on seeing Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) pierced, looked at him as if in reproach. Thus, in the Mahābhārata, in the Bhīṣma Parva—within the section concerning Bhīṣma’s fall—ends the fifty-second chapter describing the battle between Bhīṣma and Arjuna.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical pressure of righteous warfare: even a disciplined hero like Arjuna can be overtaken by anger, and in that moment he turns to Krishna—symbol of discernment and dharmic guidance—implying that moral clarity and self-control are sustained through wise counsel rather than raw emotion.
During the intense Bhishma–Arjuna confrontation, Arjuna becomes extremely angry and casts a reproachful look toward his charioteer Krishna (Madhava), suggesting frustration at the unfolding battle situation; the line also functions as a colophon marking the close of the chapter in the Bhishma Parva’s Bhishma-fall section.