Shloka 3
शरै: कनकपुड्खैश्न शक्तितोमरकम्पनै: । नाराचैर्वत्सदन्तैश्व भुशुण्डीभिश्नल सर्वशः,अताडयन् रणे भीष्मं सहिता: सर्वसृञज्जया: । समस्त सूंजय वीर एक साथ संगठित हो भयंकर शतघ्नी, परिघ, फरसे, मुद्गर, मुसल, प्रास, गोफन, स्वर्णमय पंखवाले बाण, शक्ति, तोमर, कम्पन, नाराच, वत्सदन््त और भुशुण्डी आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंद्वारा रणभूमिमें भीष्मको सब ओरसे पीड़ा देने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | śaraiḥ kanakapudkhaiś ca śaktitomarakaṃpanaiḥ | nārācair vatsadantaiś ca bhuśuṇḍībhiś ca sarvaśaḥ | atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṃ sahitāḥ sarvasṛñjayāḥ |
Sañjaya said: United together, all the Sṛñjayas struck Bhīṣma on the battlefield from every side—assailing him with arrows fitted with golden feathers, with spears and tomaras, with the weapon called kampana, with nārācas and the ‘calf-tooth’ shafts, and with bhuśuṇḍīs. The scene shows the collective resolve of the Pāṇḍava host to check the seemingly invincible elder, even as the war’s harsh necessity presses against the moral weight of attacking a revered patriarch.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim dharmic tension of war: even a venerable elder like Bhīṣma becomes a legitimate target when he stands as the chief defender of an unjust cause. It underscores kṣatriya-duty and collective resolve, while implicitly reminding the listener of the moral cost of violence against revered kin.
Sañjaya reports that the Sṛñjaya forces, acting in coordination, surround and strike Bhīṣma from all directions with many kinds of missiles and weapons—golden-fletched arrows, spears, heavy bolts, and other named arms—attempting to overwhelm him in battle.