Shloka 4

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

यत्र भीष्ममुखान्‌ सर्वान्‌ शस्त्रज्ञान्‌ योधसत्तमान्‌ । पाण्डवानामनीकेषु योधयन्ति प्रहारिण:

Transliteration

yatra bhīṣmamukhān sarvān śastrajñān yodhasattamān | pāṇḍavānām anīkeṣu yodhayanti prahāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Where are our foremost warriors—led by Bhīṣma, all masters of the science of weapons and the best among fighters—being set to engage the Pāṇḍavas’ divisions, striking and counterstriking in the press of war?”

Word by Word

यत्रwhere

भीष्ममुखान्having Bhishma as their leader/front (i.e., led by Bhishma)

सर्वान्all

शस्त्रज्ञान्knowing weapons; skilled in arms

योधसत्तमान्the best of warriors

पाण्डवानाम्of the Pandavas

अनीकेषुin the armies/formations

योधयन्तिthey cause to fight / they engage (them) in battle

प्रहारिणःthe strikers/assailants

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhīṣma

Pāṇḍavas

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 ethical weight of war under kṣatriya-dharma: leadership (Bhīṣma at the head), disciplined martial knowledge (śastrajñāḥ), and the organized reality of battle (anīkas). It also implicitly reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious dependence on commanders and formations rather than on righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, seeking to understand the unfolding battle, refers to the scene where Bhīṣma and other elite Kaurava warriors are engaging the Pāṇḍava forces within their divisions/formations, delivering blows as the fighting intensifies.