Bhishma Parva Adhyaya 121 Shloka 50 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 50

Devanagari script

नाभिसंधत्त पाज्चाल्ये स्मयमानो मुहुर्मुहु: । स्त्रीत्वं तस्यानुसंस्कृत्य भीष्मो बाणात्‌ शिखण्डिने

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nābhisaṃdhatta pāñcālye smayamāno muhur muhuḥ | strītvaṃ tasyānusaṃskṛtya bhīṣmo bāṇāt śikhaṇḍine ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Souriant sans cesse, Bhīṣma ne dirigea pas ses flèches contre le prince des Pāñcāla (Śikhaṇḍin). Se souvenant de la féminité de Śikhaṇḍin, Bhīṣma s’abstint de le frapper—ainsi, même au cœur de la fureur guerrière, il demeura fidèle à son code personnel sur ceux qu’il est juste d’atteindre.

Word by Word

नnot

अभिसंधत्तhe aimed/shot (at), he directed (weapons)

पाञ्चाल्येin/at the Panchala (i.e., Shikhandin, the Panchala prince)

स्मयमानःsmiling

मुहुःagain and again

स्त्रीत्वम्womanhood/femaleness

तस्यof him/of that (person)

अनुसंस्कृत्यhaving recalled/considered (lit. having re-formed in mind)

भीष्मःBhishma

बाणात्from/with (his) arrow(s); by means of arrows (instrumental sense in context)

शिखण्डिनेto/against Shikhandin

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Śikhaṇḍin

Pāñcāla

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, Bhīṣma maintains a self-imposed ethical boundary: remembering Śikhaṇḍin’s womanhood, he refuses to target him. The verse highlights dharma as restraint and fidelity to one’s vows, not merely battlefield success.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, though fighting fiercely, does not aim arrows at Śikhaṇḍin. He repeatedly smiles and holds back, because he considers it improper to strike someone he regards as female, thereby allowing Śikhaṇḍin to stand before him without being attacked.