Shloka 63
उसमें सहस्रों रथी और घुड़सवार प्राणशून्य होकर बिखर गये। तब शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मने कुपित होकर झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा उन महामना वीरोंकी सेनाका विनाश कर डाला; पांचालोंकी सेनाकी कितनी ही टुकड़ियोंको अपने बाणोंद्वारा यमलोक पहुँचा दिया ।। एवं भित्त्वा महेष्वास: पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम् । कृत्वावहारं सैन्यानां ययौ स्वशिबिरं नूप,नरेश्वर! महाधनुर्धर भीष्म इस प्रकार पाण्डव-सेनाका संहार करके अपनी समस्त सेनाओंको युद्धसे लौटाकर अपने शिविरको चले गये
evaṁ bhittvā maheṣvāsaḥ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm | kṛtvā avahāraṁ sainyānāṁ yayau svaśibiraṁ nṛpa, nareśvara |
Sañjaya said: There, thousands of chariot-warriors and horsemen fell lifeless and lay scattered. Then Bhīṣma, Śāntanu’s son, enraged, destroyed the army of those high-minded heroes with arrows whose joints bent downward; and with his shafts he sent many divisions of the Pāñcālas to Yama’s world. Thus, having shattered the Pāṇḍavas’ host, the great archer Bhīṣma ordered the withdrawal of all his troops from the fighting and returned to his own camp, O king.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid battlefield fury and overwhelming martial success, a leader’s dharma includes restraint and control—knowing when to stop, recall troops, and prevent violence from becoming mere slaughter without purpose.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, after breaking the Pāṇḍava battle-host, signals a withdrawal (avahāra) of his forces and returns to his own camp, marking a pause after a destructive phase of combat.