Shloka 116
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
शरस्फुलिड्ो भीष्मानिनेर्ददाह क्षत्रियर्षभान् रथ ही उनके लिये अग्निशालाके समान था, धनुष ज्वालाओंके समान प्रकाशित होता था, खड़्ग, शक्ति और गदा आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्र समिधाका काम कर रहे थे। बाण चिनगारियोंके समान थे। इस प्रकार भीष्मरूपी अग्नि वहाँ क्षत्रियशिरोमणियोंको दग्ध करने लगी
sañjaya uvāca | śara-sphuliṅgo bhīṣmāgnir dadāha kṣatriyarṣabhān | rathaḥ hi teṣāṃ agni-śalākā-samo 'bhavat, dhanuḥ jvālā-samo dīpyate sma | khaḍga-śakti-gadādayaś ca astrāṇi-śastrāṇi samidhā-kāryaṃ kurvanti sma | bāṇāḥ sphuliṅgā iva | evaṃ bhīṣma-rūpo 'gnis tatra kṣatriya-śiromaṇīn dagdhuṃ pravavṛte ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīṣma, like a blazing fire, began to burn up the foremost of the kṣatriyas. Their chariots seemed like firebrands; his bow shone like a tongue of flame. Swords, spears, maces, and other weapons served as fuel, and his arrows flew like sparks. Thus the fire that was Bhīṣma set about consuming the crown-jewels of the warrior class on that battlefield—an image of war’s terrible power, where valor becomes both duty and destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the fire-metaphor to show how kṣatriya-dharma in war can manifest as overwhelming, impersonal destruction: weapons become 'fuel' and arrows become 'sparks.' It invites reflection on the ethical weight of martial duty—valor and skill may be righteous within one’s role, yet they still produce suffering and irreversible consequences.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma’s fierce onslaught in battle. Bhīṣma is portrayed as a consuming fire: chariots appear like firebrands, his bow like flames, weapons like kindling, and arrows like sparks, as he strikes down the foremost warriors on the field.