Shloka 86

Devanagari script

एष तस्मात्‌ पुरोधाय कज्चिदन्यं ममाग्रत:,इसलिये यह अर्जुन श्रेष्ठ धनुष तथा दूसरे अस्त्र-शस्त्र लेकर युद्धमें सावधानीके साथ प्रयत्नशील हो और उपर्युक्त लक्षणोंसे युक्त किसी पुरुषको अथवा शिखण्डीको मेरे सामने खड़ा करके स्वयं बाणोंद्वारा मुझे मार गिरावे। इसी प्रकार तुम्हारी निश्चितरूपसे विजय हो सकती है

Transliteration

eṣa tasmāt purodhāya kaścid anyaṁ mamāgrataḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Therefore, placing some other man in front of me, let Arjuna—skilled with the finest bow and other weapons—fight with careful resolve. Setting before me a person bearing the stated marks, or Śikhaṇḍin, let him strike me down with arrows. In this way, your victory can be made certain.”

Word by Word

• {'eṣa': 'this

• thus (pointing to the present instruction)', 'tasmāt': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'purodhāya': 'having placed in front

• putting forward as a screen/foremost', 'kaścid': 'someone

• a certain person', 'anyam': 'another

• different (from oneself)', 'mama': 'of me

• my', 'agrataḥ': 'in front

• before (me)', 'arjunaḥ': 'Arjuna (the Pāṇḍava archer)', 'śreṣṭha-dhanuḥ': 'excellent bow

• best archer’s bow (implied epithet)', 'astra-śastra': 'missile weapons and hand-weapons', 'yuddhe': 'in battle', 'sāvadāna': 'careful

• vigilant', 'prayatnaśīla': 'striving

• exerting oneself', 'lakṣaṇa': 'mark

• characteristic sign', 'yukta': 'endowed with

• possessing', 'puruṣa': 'man

• person', 'śikhaṇḍī': 'Śikhaṇḍin (the warrior used as Bhīṣma’s ‘shield’ due to Bhīṣma’s vow)', 'bāṇaiḥ': 'with arrows', 'mārayet / pātayet': 'should kill / should bring down', 'niścitarūpeṇa': 'certainly

• decisively', 'vijaya': 'victory'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Arjuna
• Śikhaṇḍin

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma indicates that even in war, outcomes hinge on dharma-bound constraints: his own vow limits how he will fight, and the Pāṇḍavas may use that constraint strategically. The teaching highlights the ethical complexity of warfare—victory is pursued through knowledge of vows, duties, and permissible stratagems rather than brute force alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

On the battlefield, Bhīṣma explains how he can be brought down: Arjuna should advance while placing another warrior—specifically Śikhaṇḍin or someone matching the described signs—before him, and then shoot Bhīṣma with arrows. This counsel foreshadows the method by which Bhīṣma is later felled.