Shloka 11
स क्षिप्रं वधमन्विच्छन्नात्मनो 5भिमुखो रणे । न हन्यां मानवश्रेष्ठान् संग्रामे सुबहुनिति,अब वे रफणक्षेत्रमें सम्मुख रहकर शीघ्र ही अपने वधकी इच्छा करने लगे। महाराज! आपके ताऊ महाबाहु देवव्रतने यह सोचकर कि अब मैं संग्राममें बहुसंख्यक श्रेष्ठ मानवोंका वध न करूँ, अपने निकटवर्ती पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठटिरसे इस प्रकार बोले--
sa kṣipraṁ vadham anvicchann ātmano 'bhimukho raṇe | na hanyāṁ mānavaśreṣṭhān saṅgrāme subahūn iti |
Sañjaya said: Facing the battle head-on, he quickly began to seek his own death. Thinking, “May I not slay many excellent men in this war,” the mighty-armed Devavrata (Bhīṣma) then addressed the nearby son of Pāṇḍu, Yudhiṣṭhira, in these words.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within the duty-bound violence of war, the verse highlights an ethical impulse toward restraint: Bhīṣma reflects on limiting harm to “many excellent men,” showing that dharma in conflict includes moral deliberation, not mere aggression.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, facing the battle, turns toward a death-seeking resolve and, motivated by a wish not to slaughter numerous great warriors, approaches and begins speaking to Yudhiṣṭhira, setting up the next dialogue.