Shloka 16
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
दिवसे दिवसे प्राप्ते भीष्म: शान्तनवो युधि । आसुरानकरोद् व्यूहान् पैशाचानथ राक्षसान्,शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्म युद्धमें प्रतेदिन असुर, पिशाच तथा राक्षसव्यूहोंका निर्माण किया करते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
divase divase prāpte bhīṣmaḥ śāntanavo yudhi |
āsurān akarod vyūhān paiśācān atha rākṣasān ||
Sañjaya dit : «À chaque jour de combat qui se levait, Bhīṣma, fils de Śāntanu, rangeait l’armée en des formations toujours nouvelles : tantôt à la manière des Asuras, tantôt à celle des Piśācas, puis à celle des Rākṣasas — des déploiements terrifiants et puissants, faits pour submerger l’ennemi.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension in warfare: exceptional martial intelligence (forming powerful vyūhas) can be expressed through modes associated with terror and destructive impulses (āsuric, paiśāca, rākṣasa). It invites reflection on how skill and power, though effective, should be examined through the lens of dharma and restraint.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Bhishma, commanding the Kaurava forces, day after day devised different intimidating battle-formations—described as asuric, piśāca-like, and rākṣasa-like—to press the fight against the Pandavas.