Shloka 26
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्
The Tumult of Battle Described
तमायान्तं तथा दृष्टवा व्यात्ताननमिवान्तकम् । भीष्म भीमो महाबाहूु: प्रत्युदीयादमर्षित:,मुँह फैलाये हुए यमराजके समान भीष्मजीको आते देख महाबाहु भीमसेन अमर्षमें भरकर उनका सामना करनेके लिये आगे बढ़े
tam āyāntaṁ tathā dṛṣṭvā vyāttānanaṁ ivāntakam | bhīṣmaṁ bhīmo mahābāhuḥ pratyudīyād amarṣitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing Bhīṣma advancing, like Death itself with gaping jaws, the mighty-armed Bhīma—filled with fierce indignation—moved forward to confront him. The moment frames the moral tension of war: personal wrath and heroic resolve rising against an elder whose duty binds him to the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, righteous duty (dharma) and personal emotion collide: Bhīma’s anger drives him forward, while Bhīṣma—an elder bound by vow and allegiance—appears as an unavoidable force. It cautions that even justified causes can be pursued with inner turbulence, and that ethical struggle persists amid battlefield necessity.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīṣma is advancing in battle with terrifying intensity, compared to Death with an open mouth. Seeing this, Bhīma, powerful and enraged, steps forward to meet and oppose Bhīṣma directly.