Shloka 3
Adhyāya 112: Bhīṣma-prati Arjunasya Pravṛttiḥ
Arjuna’s Forward Drive Toward Bhīṣma
कथं शान्तनवो भीष्म: स तस्मिन् दशमे5हनि । अयुध्यत महावीर्य: पाण्डवै: सहसूंजयै:,महापराक्रमी शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मने दसवें दिन पाण्डवों तथा सूंजयोंके साथ किस प्रकार युद्ध किया?
kathaṁ śāntanavo bhīṣmaḥ sa tasmin daśame 'hani | ayudhyata mahāvīryaḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ sahasūñjayaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “How did Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu—of great might and heroic prowess—fight on that tenth day against the Pāṇḍavas together with the Sṛñjayas?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic tension central to the epic: even the most venerable and righteous warrior (Bhīṣma) must act within the role and vows he has accepted, and the narrative invites reflection on how duty (kṣatriya-dharma) operates amid morally complex war.
Sañjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, introduces the account of the tenth day’s fighting, specifically asking how Bhīṣma—renowned for unmatched prowess—engaged the Pāṇḍavas and their allies, the Sṛñjayas.