Shloka 50
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
संजय उवाच एवमुक्क्त्वा ततो भीष्म॑ पञठ्चभिनर्नतपर्वभि: । अविध्यत रणे भीष्म प्रणुन्नं वाक्यसायकै:
sañjaya uvāca evam uktvā tato bhīṣmaṃ pañcabhir nataparvabhiḥ | avidhyat raṇe bhīṣmaṃ praṇunnaṃ vākyasāyakaiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, setelah berkata demikian, Śikhaṇḍin lalu melukai Bhīṣma di medan laga dengan lima anak panah yang ruas-ruasnya melengkung. Bhīṣma yang sama—yang sebelumnya telah terdesak dan tersiksa oleh ‘anak panah’ kata-kata—kini terluka oleh panah yang sungguh-sungguh dalam pertempuran.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how speech can function like a weapon—words can ‘wound’ and drive a person even before physical blows land—underscoring ethical responsibility in speech amid conflict.
After speaking, Śikhaṇḍin strikes Bhīṣma in the battle with five arrows described as having bent joints; Sañjaya notes that Bhīṣma was already pressed by ‘word-arrows’ and is now physically pierced.