Shloka 45
नाकम्पत महाराज क्षितिकम्पे यथाचल: । नरेश्वर! युद्धमें शिखण्डीके द्वारा आहत होकर भी कुरुवंशियोंके पितामह भीष्म उसी प्रकार कम्पित नहीं हुए, जैसे भूकम्प होनेपर भी पर्वत नहीं हिलता || ४४ ह || ततः प्रहस्य बीभत्सुर्व्याक्षिपन् गाण्डिवं धनु:
nākampata mahārāja kṣitikampe yathācalaḥ | nareśvara! yuddhe śikhaṇḍinā āhato 'pi kurūvaṃśīnāṃ pitāmaho bhīṣmaḥ sa tathā na kampitaḥ, yathā bhūkampaḥ sati 'pi parvato na calati || 44 h || tataḥ prahasya bībhatsur vyākṣipan gāṇḍivaṃ dhanuḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O great king, even when the earth shook, he did not tremble—like a mountain that remains unmoved in an earthquake. O lord of men, though struck in battle through Śikhaṇḍī, Bhīṣma, the grandsire of the Kuru line, did not waver in the least. Then Arjuna, smiling, swiftly took up the Gāṇḍīva bow.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣātra-tejas and dhṛti—steadfast courage under extreme pressure. Bhīṣma’s composure, even when wounded, is presented as an ethical ideal of unwavering resolve in one’s chosen duty, regardless of pain or shifting circumstances.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, though struck in battle through Śikhaṇḍī, remains unshaken like a mountain in an earthquake. Immediately after, Arjuna (called Bībhatsu) smiles and takes up his bow Gāṇḍīva, signaling the next escalation in the combat.