Shloka 17
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
वरुण: पाशभूृच्चापि सगदो वा धनेश्वर: । न तु भीष्म: सुसंक्रुद्ध: शक््यो जेतुं महाहवे,“समरभूमिमें क्रोधमें भरे हुए यमराज, वज्रधारी इन्द्र, पाशधारी वरुण अथवा गदाधारी कुबेरको भी जीता जा सकता है; परंतु इस महासमरमें कुपित भीष्मको पराजित करना असम्भव है
varuṇaḥ pāśabhṛc cāpi sagado vā dhaneśvaraḥ | na tu bhīṣmaḥ susaṃkruddhaḥ śakyo jetuṃ mahāhave ||
Sañjaya said: “Even Varuṇa bearing his noose, or Kubera the lord of wealth wielding his mace, could be overcome in battle; but Bhīṣma—when thoroughly enraged—cannot be conquered in this great war.” The statement heightens Bhīṣma’s awe-inspiring martial and moral stature, suggesting that when a righteous elder is provoked to wrath on the battlefield, his force becomes nearly irresistible and the ethical weight of opposing him becomes grave.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the extraordinary, near-unassailable power of Bhīṣma when roused, implying that opposing a dharmic elder-warrior at the height of righteous wrath is both strategically perilous and ethically weighty.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield situation, magnifies Bhīṣma’s might by comparing him to formidable divine figures (Varuṇa and Kubera), concluding that while even such beings might be defeated, an enraged Bhīṣma in the great war cannot be.