Shloka 12
आशा-कृशता उपाख्यानम्
The Episode on the Emaciation Caused by Hope
ततः स राजा तारुण्यादौरसेन बलेन च | ससार बाणासनभूत् सखड्गोडसौ तनुत्रवान्,राजा भी नौजवान और हार्दिक बलसे सम्पन्न थे, उन्होंने कवच बाँध रखा था। वे धनुष-बाण और तलवार लिये उसका पीछा करने लगे
tataḥ sa rājā tāruṇyād aurasena balena ca | sasāra bāṇāsanabhūt sa-khaḍgoḍasau tanutrāvān ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Alors le roi, porté par l’ardeur de la jeunesse et par la force innée de sa lignée, se lança à la poursuite : il revêtit son armure, prit son arc et ses flèches, ainsi que son épée et d’autres armes.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya impulse toward action—youthful energy and inherited strength driving a ruler to pursue an objective. In the Śānti context, such power is implicitly to be governed by dharma: capability and arms are not ends in themselves but instruments whose use must later be ethically assessed.
Bhīṣma describes a king who, energized by youth and natural prowess, arms himself—putting on armor and taking bow, arrows, and sword—and rushes out in pursuit of someone (the target is specified in surrounding verses).