Shloka 42
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
ततो भीष्मो महाबाहु: पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् | सेनां जघान संक्रुद्धो दिव्यैरस्त्रैमहाबल:,तब महाबली महाबाहु भीष्म अत्यन्त कुपित हो अपने दिव्यास्त्रोंद्वारा महामना पाण्डवोंकी सेनाका संहार करने लगे
tato bhīṣmo mahābāhuḥ pāṇḍavānāṁ mahātmanām | senāṁ jaghāna saṁkruddho divyair astrair mahābalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Bhishma, mighty-armed and immensely powerful, enraged, began to strike down the army of the noble-souled Pandavas with celestial weapons.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: even a venerable elder like Bhishma, bound by warrior-duty and allegiance, can become an instrument of vast harm when anger rises; it cautions that wrath intensifies violence and obscures discernment, despite the presence of 'great-souled' opponents.
Sanjaya reports that Bhishma, provoked and furious, turns his celestial weapons upon the Pandavas’ forces and begins cutting down their army, marking a surge in the battle’s ferocity.