Shloka 52
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
(सारथ्यं निपुणं कुर्वन् प्रत्यदृश्यत संयुगे । भीष्मस्तावत् सुसंक्रुद्ध: पुनर्बाणान् मुमोच ह ।। पार्थाय युधि राजेन्द्र तदद्भुतमिवाभवत् | अर्जुनस्तु सुसंक्रुद्ध:/ पितामहमरिंदम: । अवर्षद् बाणवर्षेण योद्धुं ह्ाभिमुखे स्थितम् ।। तावुभौ युधि दुर्धर्षी युयुधाते परस्परम् ।) युद्धस्थलमें भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण कुशलतापूर्वक सारथ्य-कर्म करते दिखायी दिये। राजेन्द्र! भीष्म अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरकर युद्धमें पार्थके ऊपर बारंबार बाणोंकी वर्षा करते रहे। वह अद्भुत-सी बात थी। फिर शत्रुदमन अर्जुनने भी क्रोधमें भरकर युद्धके लिये अपने सामने खड़े हुए भीष्मपर बाणोंकी वर्षा प्रारम्भ कर दी। वे दोनों रण-दुर्जय वीर एक-दूसरेसे युद्ध कर रहे थे। शुशुभाते नरव्याप्रौ तौ भीष्मशरविक्षतौ । गोवृषाविव संरब्धौ विषाणोल्लिखिताड्॒कितौ,उस समय पुरुषसिंह श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुन दोनों ही भीष्मके बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत हो सींगोंके आघातसे घायल हुए दो रोषभरे साँड़ोंके समान सुशोभित हो रहे थे
saṃjaya uvāca | sārathyaṃ nipuṇaṃ kurvan pratyadṛśyata saṃyuge | bhīṣmas tāvat susaṃkruddhaḥ punar bāṇān mumoca ha || pārthāya yudhi rājendra tad adbhutam ivābhavat | arjunas tu susaṃkruddhaḥ pitāmaham ariṃdamaḥ | avarṣad bāṇavarṣeṇa yoddhuṃ hy abhimukhe sthitam || tāv ubhau yudhi durdharṣī yuyudhāte parasparam | śuśubhāte naravyāghrau tau bhīṣmaśaravikṣatau | govṛṣāv iva saṃrabdhau viṣāṇollikhitāṅkitau ||
Sanjaya said: In the thick of battle, Kṛṣṇa was seen expertly performing the charioteer’s task. Then Bhīṣma, inflamed with anger, again and again loosed his arrows at Pārtha (Arjuna); O king, it seemed almost wondrous. Arjuna too, the foe-subduer, enraged, began to shower Bhīṣma—standing before him ready to fight—with a rain of arrows. Thus those two warriors, hard to withstand in combat, fought each other. And Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, the two ‘tigers among men,’ though torn and wounded by Bhīṣma’s shafts, shone like two furious bulls marked and gashed by the scraping blows of horns—an image that underscores both the ferocity of righteous warfare and the steadfast resolve of those who bear its wounds without yielding.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: even the greatest elders and heroes must fulfill their martial duty with unwavering resolve. It also foregrounds the ethical tension of war—anger surges, yet discipline and role-based responsibility (Kṛṣṇa’s steady charioteering; Arjuna’s facing the grandsire) sustain the order of battle.
Sanjaya describes a fierce exchange: Kṛṣṇa is seen driving Arjuna’s chariot with consummate skill; Bhīṣma, enraged, repeatedly showers arrows at Arjuna; Arjuna, equally incensed, answers with his own arrow-rain at Bhīṣma. Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, wounded by Bhīṣma’s shafts, are compared to two furious bulls scarred by horn-strikes, emphasizing the intensity and endurance of the combat.