Shloka 15
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
यथा घोरो महानागस्तक्षको वै विषोल्बण: । तथा भीष्मो रणे क्रुद्धस्ती क्ष्णशस्त्र: प्रतापवान्
yathā ghoro mahānāgas takṣako vai viṣolbaṇaḥ | tathā bhīṣmo raṇe kruddhas tīkṣṇaśastraḥ pratāpavān ||
Sañjaya said: “Just as the dreadful great serpent Takṣaka is fiercely venomous, so too was Bhīṣma—angered in the thick of battle—terrible in his might, armed with keen weapons.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled wrath in war amplifies destructive capability: Bhīṣma’s prowess, when joined with anger, becomes as fearsome as a deadly serpent’s venom. It implicitly warns that power and sharp instruments (weapons) gain moral weight depending on the inner state directing them.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, depicts Bhīṣma’s terrifying effectiveness in combat. He uses a vivid simile—Takṣaka, the intensely venomous nāga—to convey Bhīṣma’s lethal, unstoppable presence when enraged in the fight.