Shloka 76
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
समभ्यधावद् गाड़्ेयं भैरवास्त्रो धनंजय: । भयंकर अस्त्रवाले अर्जुनने प्रचण्ड आँधी, बिजली तथा गर्जनासे युक्त मेघके समान सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको अपनी बाणवर्षासे आप्लावित करते हुए गंगानन्दन भीष्मपर सब ओरसे धावा किया
saṃabhyadhāvad gāṅgeyaṃ bhairavāstro dhanaṃjayaḥ | bhayaṅkara-astravān arjunaḥ pracaṇḍāndhī-vidyut-garjanā-yukta-megha-samo diśaḥ sarvāḥ śara-vṛṣṭyā āplāvayan sarvataḥ gāṅgeyaṃ bhīṣmam abhyadhāvat |
Sañjaya said: Dhanañjaya Arjuna, armed with a fearsome array of missiles, rushed upon Bhīṣma, the son of the Gaṅgā. Like a storm-cloud charged with violent wind, lightning, and thunder, he flooded every direction with a rain of arrows and attacked Bhīṣma from all sides—an image of war’s overwhelming force, where prowess is displayed even as the moral weight of striking an elder and revered warrior hangs over the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethos of resolute action in battle while implicitly underscoring dharmic complexity: Arjuna’s duty to fight for justice and order is enacted through overwhelming martial force, yet the target is Bhīṣma—an elder worthy of reverence—so the scene carries an ethical tension between personal veneration and public duty.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna charging Bhīṣma and saturating all directions with a dense rain of arrows, likening Arjuna to a storm-cloud with wind, lightning, and thunder. It is a vivid battlefield moment emphasizing Arjuna’s intensity and the ferocity of the engagement against Bhīṣma.