Shloka 4
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
यत्र भीष्ममुखान् सर्वान् शस्त्रज्ञान् योधसत्तमान् । पाण्डवानामनीकेषु योधयन्ति प्रहारिण:
yatra bhīṣmamukhān sarvān śastrajñān yodhasattamān | pāṇḍavānām anīkeṣu yodhayanti prahāriṇaḥ ||
Dijo Dhṛtarāṣṭra: «¿En qué lugar nuestros guerreros más eminentes—encabezados por Bhīṣma, todos diestros en la ciencia de las armas y los mejores entre los combatientes—son dispuestos a trabar batalla contra las divisiones de los Pāṇḍavas, asestando y respondiendo golpes en el fragor de la guerra?»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of war under kṣatriya-dharma: leadership (Bhīṣma at the head), disciplined martial knowledge (śastrajñāḥ), and the organized reality of battle (anīkas). It also implicitly reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious dependence on commanders and formations rather than on righteousness.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, seeking to understand the unfolding battle, refers to the scene where Bhīṣma and other elite Kaurava warriors are engaging the Pāṇḍava forces within their divisions/formations, delivering blows as the fighting intensifies.