Shloka 29
भीष्म–रामजामदग्न्ययुद्धप्रस्थानवर्णनम्
Bhishma’s Account of Parashurama’s Challenge and the March to Kurukshetra
स मुक्तो न््यपतत् तूर्ण सब्ये पाश्वे महाहवे । येनाहं भृशमुद्विग्नो व्याघूर्णित इव द्रुम:
sa mukto nyapatat tūrṇaṃ savye pārśve mahāhave | yenāhaṃ bhṛśam udvigno vyāghūrṇita iva drumaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Released from his bow, that arrow swiftly struck my left side in the midst of the great battle. By that blow I was thrown into intense agitation, swaying like a tree buffeted and whirled by force.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immediate, bodily consequence of martial action: even the greatest warrior is subject to pain and destabilization. Ethically, it highlights the gravity of violence in kṣatriya conflict—heroism is inseparable from vulnerability and suffering.
Bhīṣma describes being hit by an arrow released from an opponent’s bow. The arrow strikes his left side during a fierce battle, and the impact makes him reel and sway like a tree shaken by a powerful force.