Shloka 41
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
त॑ं शिखण्डी त्रिभिबाणिरभ्यविध्यत् स्तनान्तरे । आशीविषमिव क्रुद्धं कालसृष्टमिवान्तकम्
taṁ śikhaṇḍī tribhir bāṇair abhyavidhyat stanāntare | āśīviṣam iva kruddhaṁ kālasṛṣṭam ivāntakam ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors Śikhaṇḍī frappa Bhīṣma de trois flèches entre les seins. En cet instant, Bhīṣma parut tel un serpent venimeux en fureur, et tel la Mort elle-même—mandée par le Temps—s’avançant inexorablement.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of mortality under the governance of Kāla (Time) and the heavy ethical atmosphere of war: even a righteous and formidable elder like Bhīṣma is drawn toward his destined end, reminding readers that power and valor do not exempt one from consequence and fate.
Sañjaya reports that Śikhaṇḍī shoots three arrows into Bhīṣma’s chest. Bhīṣma is described through intense similes—like an enraged venomous serpent and like Death dispatched by Time—emphasizing both his terrifying martial presence and the ominous turning point of the battle.