Shloka 15
अनीकव्यूहप्रतिव्यूहः
Counter-deployment of Divisions and the Opening Tumult
वायुदेव उवाच य एष रोषात् प्रतपन् बलस्थो यो नः सेनां सिंह इवेक्षते च । स एष भीष्म: कुरुवंशकेतु- येनाह्वतास्त्रिशतं वाजिमेधा:,भगवान् वासुदेव बोले--धनंजय! ये जो अपनी सेनाके मध्यभागमें स्थित हो रोषसे तप रहे हैं और सिंहके समान हमारी सेनाकी ओर देखते हैं, ये ही कुरुकुलकेतु भीष्म हैं, जिन्होंने अबतक तीन सौ अश्वमेधयज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान किया है
vāyudeva uvāca | ya eṣa roṣāt pratapan balastho yo naḥ senāṃ siṃha ivekṣate ca | sa eṣa bhīṣmaḥ kuruvaṃśaketuḥ yenāhvatās triśataṃ vājimedhāḥ ||
Vāyudeva said: “He who stands amid the strength of the army, blazing with wrath, and who looks upon our host like a lion—he is Bhīṣma, the banner of the Kuru line, by whom three hundred Aśvamedha sacrifices have been duly performed.” The verse frames Bhīṣma not merely as a formidable warrior but as a figure of immense ritual merit and dynastic responsibility, intensifying the moral weight of confronting him in war.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly power in battle is intertwined with dharmic reputation: Bhīṣma’s fearsome presence is reinforced by his standing as the Kuru dynasty’s emblem and by his vast ritual accomplishments. It suggests that ethical conflict in the Mahābhārata is not merely physical combat but confrontation with revered elders whose merit and duty complicate the righteousness of war.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s battlefield setting, Vāyudeva identifies the warrior who stands at the center of the opposing force, glaring like a lion—Bhīṣma. He is introduced with honorific emphasis, noting his dynastic stature and the extraordinary number of Aśvamedha rites attributed to him, thereby underscoring the magnitude of the challenge faced by the other side.