Shloka 18
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
ध्वजं चास्य त्रिभिभल्लैक्षिच्छेद परमौजस: । सारथिं च त्रिभिबाणैराजघान यतव्रत:,साथ ही उस महातेजस्वी वीरके ध्वजको भी तीन बाणोंसे काट गिराया; इतना ही नहीं, नियमपूर्वक ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करनेवाले भीष्मने तीन बाणोंसे अभिमन्युके सारथिको भी मार डाला
dhvajaṃ cāsya tribhir bāṇaiś ciccheda paramaujasāḥ | sārathiṃ ca tribhir bāṇair ājaghāna yatavrataḥ ||
સંજય બોલ્યો—પરમૌજસ્વી ભીષ્મે ત્રણ બાણોથી તેનો ધ્વજ કાપી નાખ્યો; અને વ્રતનિષ્ઠ ભીષ્મે ત્રણ બાણોથી તેના સારથિને પણ ઘાત કર્યો.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes ferocity in battle with inner discipline: Bhīṣma is portrayed as a vow-bound, self-restrained elder who nevertheless executes his martial duty with decisive precision. It highlights how personal austerity (vrata) can coexist with uncompromising action within one’s assigned role in war.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, using three arrows, first cuts down the opponent’s banner (a symbolic blow to identity and morale) and then, again with three arrows, strikes down the charioteer—an act that disables the chariot and intensifies the combat’s deadly momentum.