Shloka 23
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः
स त्वं पश्य महाभाग योगेश्वर महारथम् । भीष्म॑ यः: शमयेत् संख्ये दावाग्निंजलदो यथा
sa tvaṁ paśya mahābhāga yogeśvara mahāratham | bhīṣmaṁ yaḥ śamayet saṅkhye dāvāgniṁ jalado yathā ||
Sañjaya dit : « Ainsi donc, ô bienheureux, ô seigneur du yoga, cherche et reconnais ce grand guerrier de char qui, sur le champ de bataille, pourra apaiser Bhīṣma, comme un nuage de pluie éteint un incendie de forêt déchaîné. »
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and strategic necessity of restraint in war: when a formidable force becomes unstoppable, leadership must seek a means to neutralize it with minimal chaos—symbolized by the cooling, quenching power of a rain-cloud over a forest fire.
Sanjaya, reporting the war situation, urges the addressed hero (called “Mahābhāga” and “Yogeśvara”) to identify a champion capable of subduing Bhishma in battle, comparing Bhishma’s destructive prowess to a wildfire and the needed counterforce to a rain-cloud.