Shloka 112
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
विकृष्य बलवान् भीष्म: समाधत्त दुरासदम् | ब्रह्मास्त्रेण सुसंयुक्त तं शरं लोमवाहिनम्,तदनन्तर महाबली भीष्मने धनुषको खींचकर उसके ऊपर एक मृत्युके समान भयंकर, भारी-से-भारी लक्ष्यको बेधनेमें समर्थ, उत्तम और दुःसह पंखयुक्त बाण रखा; फिर उसे ब्रह्मास्त्रद्वारा अभिमन्त्रित करके छोड़ दिया
sañjaya uvāca | vikṛṣya balavān bhīṣmaḥ samādhatta durāsadam | brahmāstreṇa susaṃyuktaṃ taṃ śaraṃ lomavāhinam ||
Dijo Sañjaya: El poderoso Bhīṣma tensó su arco y colocó en él una flecha formidable, difícil de resistir. Aquel dardo, provisto de plumas terribles, lo fortaleció luego con el Brahmāstra, volviéndolo un arma de fuerza irresistible, y lo soltó, resuelto a herir incluso el blanco más difícil. La escena subraya la sombría escalada de la guerra, donde el dominio de las armas sagradas se vuelca hacia la destrucción y no hacia la contención.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary power—especially sacred or divinely sanctioned power—can be directed toward harm when war intensifies. It implicitly raises an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata: kṣatriya prowess and duty may demand battle, yet the use of overwhelming astras calls for discernment and restraint, since such force magnifies suffering and narrows the space for dharmic choice.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma drawing his bow, setting a formidable feathered arrow, empowering it with the Brahmāstra, and releasing it. The action signals a decisive, high-stakes moment in combat where a great warrior escalates to a supreme missile to overcome an otherwise difficult-to-defeat opponent or target.