Shloka 43
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
पश्य त्वं मां रणे राजन् कुर्वाणं कर्म दारुणम् । यस्य वीर्य समासाद्य मन्यसे विजयं युधि
paśya tvaṁ māṁ raṇe rājan kurvāṇaṁ karma dāruṇam | yasya vīrya-samāsādya manyase vijayaṁ yudhi, tam ahaṁ pātayiṣyāmi rathāt tava pitāmaham ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, behold me in battle as I perform a fearsome deed. Trusting in the prowess of the one by whose strength you imagine victory in war, I shall cast down that very grandsire of yours from his chariot.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethos of resolute action in war: confidence is challenged by a counter-claim of superior prowess. Ethically, it underscores how reliance on a single champion can breed overconfidence, while the speaker frames his intent as a decisive, even dreadful, act within the harsh logic of battlefield duty.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s bold declaration to the king: in the coming battle he will perform a terrifying feat—toppling the king’s revered grandsire (understood in context as Bhīṣma) from his chariot—thereby undermining the very pillar of strength on which the king expects victory.