Shloka 73
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
ममैष भार: सर्वो हि हनिष्यामि पितामहम् । शपे केशव शस्त्रेण सत्येन सुकृतेन च,“केशव! यह सारा भार मुझपर है। मैं अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्र, सत्य और सुकृतकी शपथ खाकर कहता हूँ कि पितामह भीष्मका वध करूँगा
mamaiṣa bhāraḥ sarvo hi haniṣyāmi pitāmaham | śape keśava śastreṇa satyena sukṛtena ca ||
Sañjaya said: “This entire burden rests upon me alone. O Keśava, I swear by my weapons, by truth, and by my accumulated merit: I shall slay the grandsire Bhīṣma.” The utterance frames the killing of an elder not as personal hatred but as a grim wartime necessity, reinforced through solemn vows that invoke truth and moral credit as witnesses.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights accountability in action: the speaker accepts the full burden of a difficult deed and binds himself through an oath invoking weapons (martial duty), truth (moral integrity), and sukṛta (ethical capital). It reflects the Mahābhārata tension between reverence for elders and the harsh demands of righteous war.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s fierce resolve addressed to Keśava (Kṛṣṇa): he claims responsibility for the situation and vows—by arms, truth, and merit—to kill the grandsire Bhīṣma, a pivotal and formidable figure on the battlefield.