Shloka 85
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
न मे रथी सात्वत कौरवाणां क्रुद्धस्य मुच्येत रणेड्द्य कश्चित् । तस्मादहं गृहा रथाड्रमुग्रं प्राणं हरिष्यामि महाव्रतस्य
sañjaya uvāca |
na me rathī sātvatakauravāṇāṃ kruddhasya mucyeta raṇe ’dya kaścit |
tasmād ahaṃ gṛhya rathāgram ugraṃ prāṇaṃ hariṣyāmi mahāvratasya ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô héros des Sātvatas ! Aujourd’hui, lorsque moi (Kṛṣṇa) je brûle de colère, nul guerrier en char des Kauravas n’échappera vivant à ma main sur le champ de bataille. Aussi, saisissant l’arme la plus terrible de mon char—le disque (cakra)—j’ôterai la vie au grand gardien de vœu (Bhīṣma).»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic crisis in war: even a protector committed to restraint may be driven to fierce action when injustice seems unchecked. It foregrounds the tension between vows/rules of combat and the urgent duty to protect the righteous, showing how anger and compassion can collide in moments of moral extremity.
Sañjaya reports Kṛṣṇa’s resolve on the battlefield: in anger, he declares that no Kaurava chariot-warrior will escape him that day, and that he will seize the chariot’s foremost weapon (understood as the wheel) to slay Bhīṣma, the renowned great vow-holder.