Shloka 66
Bhīṣma’s Appraisal of Pāṇḍava-Alliance Warriors (Śikhaṇḍin, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and Allied Kings)
रुद्रवत् प्रचरिष्यन्ति तत्र मे नास्ति संशय: । ये चारों भाई महान् क्लेशोंका स्मरण करके तुम्हारी सेनामें घुसकर रुद्रदेवके समान संहार करते हुए विचरेंगे; इस विषयमें मुझे संशय नहीं है
rudravat pracariṣyanti tatra me nāsti saṁśayaḥ | ye cāraḥ bhrātaraḥ mahān kleśān smaraṇaṁ kṛtvā tava senāṁ praviśya rudradeva-samāḥ saṁhāraṁ kurvantaḥ vicarīṣyanti; asmin viṣaye me saṁśayo nāsti |
Bhīṣma said: “They will range there like Rudra—of this I have no doubt. Those four brothers, recalling the great hardships they have endured, will plunge into your army and move about dealing destruction like the god Rudra. In this matter, I have no uncertainty.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral psychology of warriors: remembered suffering hardens resolve and fuels decisive action. Bhīṣma’s certainty also highlights the Mahābhārata theme that accumulated injustice and hardship can culminate in overwhelming, almost ‘divine’ force on the battlefield.
Bhīṣma is warning/predicting that four brothers—driven by the memory of their great hardships—will break into the opposing army and wreak havoc, moving through it with the destructive intensity associated with Rudra.