Shloka 22
भीष्म–रामजामदग्न्ययुद्धप्रस्थानवर्णनम्
Bhishma’s Account of Parashurama’s Challenge and the March to Kurukshetra
ततस्ते सूदिता: सर्वे मम बाणा: सुसंशिता: । रामबाणैदविधा छिन्ना: शतशो5थ सहसत्रश:,इस प्रकार मेरे चलाये हुए वे सब सैकड़ों और हजारों तीखे बाण परशुरामजीके सायकोंसे कटकर दो-दो टूक हो नष्ट हो गये
tataste sūditāḥ sarve mama bāṇāḥ su-saṃśitāḥ | rāma-bāṇair dvidhā chinnāḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Then all those keenly whetted arrows of mine, once released, were struck by Rāma’s shafts and severed into two—hundreds and even thousands of them—so that they were rendered useless.” In the ethical frame of the episode, the verse underscores how sheer martial prowess and disciplined skill can neutralize aggression without excess cruelty, revealing the hierarchy of mastery even among righteous warriors.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even formidable force can be checked by superior mastery and disciplined technique; true martial excellence includes the capacity to neutralize harm efficiently rather than merely inflict it.
Bhīṣma recounts that the arrows he released were intercepted by Paraśurāma (called Rāma here), whose shafts cut Bhīṣma’s arrows into two, in vast numbers, rendering them ineffective.