Shloka 246
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
आश्षिप्त: स्यन्दनाद् वीर: ससारथिरजिद्ागै: । भीष्मके बाणोंसे पहिये टूट गये, जूआ कट गया और एकमात्र बचा हुआ रथका घोड़ा भी मारा गया। उस दशामें रथपर बैठा हुआ सारथिसहित वीर रथी भी उनके बाणोंसे आहत होकर स्वर्ग सिधारा
āśṣiptaḥ syandanād vīraḥ sa-sārathir ajid-āgaiḥ | bhīṣmake bāṇaiḥ pahiyē tūṭ gaye, yūā kaṭ gayā aura ekamātra bacā huā rathakā ghoṛā bhī mārā gayā | usa daśā meṃ ratha para baiṭhā huā sārathi-sahita vīra rathī bhī unke bāṇoṃ se āhata hokara svarga sidhārā ||
Oleh anak-panah Bhīṣma, roda-roda kereta hancur, kuknya tertebas, dan bahkan kuda terakhir yang tersisa pun tewas. Dalam keadaan tak berdaya itu, sang kesatria penunggang kereta—bersama saisnya—terluka oleh panah-panah itu dan berangkat menuju surga.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh moral reality of dharma-yuddha: valor and duty may culminate in death, and the warrior’s ‘svarga-gamana’ reflects the traditional ideal that one who falls facing the enemy attains a higher state—yet the narration also highlights the immense human cost of war.
Sañjaya describes a warrior being overwhelmed by Bhīṣma’s arrows: the chariot is disabled (wheels shattered, yoke cut), the last horse is killed, and the warrior—still on the chariot with his charioteer—falls mortally wounded and dies, said to have departed to heaven.