Shloka 76
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
तौ रथस्थौ नरव्याप्रौ भीष्म: शान्तनव: पुन:
tau rathasthau naravyāprāu bhīṣmaḥ śāntanavaḥ punaḥ
Sañjaya said: Those two mighty men, standing upon their chariots—Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu, once again (came into view/was engaged). The line underscores the renewed prominence of Bhīṣma on the battlefield, highlighting the recurring return of an elder’s formidable duty in war despite the moral weight of kin-slaying and the tragedy of fratricidal conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war is morally grievous, the epic repeatedly frames Bhīṣma as embodying the burden of dharma-as-duty: an elder warrior returning ‘again’ to the field, bound by vows, allegiance, and the kṣatriya code, illustrating how righteousness in the Mahābhārata often involves painful, imperfect obligations rather than simple moral choices.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment: two heroic chariot-borne warriors are being described, with special emphasis on Bhīṣma—identified by his lineage as Śāntanu’s son—reappearing or re-engaging in the action, signaling his continued central role in the fighting.