Shloka 7
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
तेनैवमुक्त: प्रहसन् महात्मा दुर्योधनं मन्युगतं विदित्वा । त॑ं प्रत्युवाचाविमना मनस्वी गड्डासुतः शस्त्रभूृतां वरिष्ठ:
tenaivam uktaḥ prahasan mahātmā duryodhanaṁ manyugataṁ viditvā | taṁ pratyuvācāvimanā manasvī gaṅgāsutaḥ śastrabhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ ||
Thus addressed, the great-souled Bhīṣma—perceiving Duryodhana to be seized by anger—laughed aloud and, with an untroubled and resolute mind, replied to him. The son of the Gaṅgā, foremost among weapon-bearers, answered with calm mastery.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological contrast: anger (manyu) clouds judgment, while a steady, unagitated mind (avimanāḥ, manasvī) is fit to counsel and lead. Bhīṣma’s laughter signals confidence and a measured response rather than being drawn into Duryodhana’s agitation.
Sañjaya reports that after Duryodhana speaks (apparently in anger), Bhīṣma—son of Gaṅgā and the foremost among warriors—recognizes Duryodhana’s wrath, laughs aloud, and replies calmly, setting up Bhīṣma’s counsel or counterpoint to Duryodhana’s emotional stance.