Shloka 60
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
अहमावारयिष्यामि वेलेव मकरालयम् । “मैं द्रोणाचार्य
sañjaya uvāca | aham āvārayiṣyāmi veleva makarālayam | kurūṃś ca sahitān sarvān yudhyamānān mahābalān | nivārayiṣyāmi raṇe sādhayasva pitāmaham ||
Sañjaya dit : «Je les contiendrai—comme le rivage retient l’océan, demeure des makaras. Même tous les puissants Kaurava, combattant d’un seul élan, je les arrêterai sur le champ de bataille. Toi, pendant ce temps, accomplis la tâche concernant le vénérable aïeul Bhīṣma.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethic of assigned duty (svadharma) within a larger collective aim: one warrior accepts the responsibility of containing overwhelming forces so another can fulfill a difficult, morally weighty objective—bringing down a revered elder in war—framed as a necessary task within the chosen course of battle.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield assurance: the speaker vows to restrain the united, powerful Kaurava fighters—likened to holding back the ocean at the shore—so that the addressed warrior can focus on accomplishing the specific mission of dealing with Bhīṣma (the grandsire).