Shloka 12
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
तस्य संजनयन् हर्ष कुरुवृद्ध: पितामह: । सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चै: शड्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान्,(तब) कौरवोंमें वृद्ध बड़े प्रतापी पितामह भीष्मने उस दुर्योधनके हृदयमें हर्ष उत्पन्न करते हुए उच्च स्वरसे सिंहकी दहाड़के समान गरजकर शंख बजाया
tasya sañjanayan harṣaṁ kuruvṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ | siṁhanādaṁ vinadyoccaiḥ śaṅkhaṁ dadhmau pratāpavān ||
Sañjaya said: To kindle joy in Duryodhana’s heart, the grandsire Bhīṣma—eldest of the Kurus and mighty in prowess—roared aloud like a lion and blew his conch with a resounding blast. The act signals the Kaurava army’s rallying confidence and the formal commencement of battle, even as it foreshadows the grave moral weight of kin fighting kin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how leaders use symbolic acts and sound-signals to steady and uplift their side at moments of crisis. Ethically, it also frames the war as a solemn, duty-laden conflict: even revered elders participate, intensifying the moral gravity of the coming battle.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma, the Kuru grandsire, loudly roaring like a lion and blowing his conch to encourage Duryodhana and to signal the Kaurava forces to begin the battle preparations.