Shloka 3
कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies
प्रजापतिमिवौदार्ये तेजसा भास्करोपमम् | महेन्द्रमिव शत्रूणां ध्वंसनं शरवृष्टिभि:,जनमेजयने पूछा--भगवन्! भरतवंशियोंके पितामह गंगानन्दन महात्मा भीष्म सम्पूर्ण शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ थे। समस्त राजाओंमें ध्वजके समान उनका बहुत ऊँचा स्थान था। वे बुद्धिमें बृहस्पति, क्षमामें पृथ्वी, गम्भीरतामें समुद्र, स्थिरतामें हिमवान्, उदारतामें प्रजापति और तेजमें भगवान् सूर्यके समान थे। वे अपने बाणोंकी वर्षद्वारा देवराज इन्द्रके समान शत्रुओंका विध्वंस करनेवाले थे। उस समय जो अत्यन्त भयंकर तथा रोमांचकारी रणयज्ञ आरम्भ हुआ था, उसमें उन्होंने जब दीर्घकालके लिये दीक्षा ले ली, तब इस समाचारको सुननेके पश्चात् सम्पूर्ण शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ महाबाहु युधिष्ठिरने क्या कहा? भीमसेन तथा अर्जुनने भी उसके बारेमें क्या कहा? अथवा भगवान् श्रीकृष्णने अपना मत किस प्रकार व्यक्त किया?
prajāpatim ivaudārye tejasā bhāskaropamam | mahendram iva śatrūṇāṁ dhvaṁsanaṁ śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ || janamejaya uvāca ||
Janamejaya said: “In generosity he was like Prajāpati; in splendor he resembled the Sun. By showers of arrows he was a destroyer of enemies like great Indra. After hearing that Gaṅgā’s son, the magnanimous Bhīṣma—foremost among all bearers of weapons and exalted among kings like a banner—had undertaken a long consecration for that dread, hair-raising ‘sacrifice of battle’ that had begun, what did the mighty-armed Yudhiṣṭhira, best of warriors, say? What did Bhīmasena and Arjuna say about it? And how did Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa express his view?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Bhīṣma’s martial excellence within ethical and cosmic ideals: generosity (Prajāpati), radiance (Sun), and enemy-subduing power (Indra). By calling war a ‘raṇa-yajña’ and Bhīṣma’s commitment a ‘dīkṣā’, it highlights how kṣatriya action is traditionally interpreted as a vowed duty requiring discipline, restraint, and accountability—not mere violence.
Janamejaya, hearing that Bhīṣma has effectively ‘taken vows’ for the impending terrible conflict, asks Vaiśaṃpāyana to report the reactions and counsel among the Pāṇḍava side—what Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, and Arjuna said, and how Kṛṣṇa articulated his opinion—setting up the next portion of the dialogue and strategy.