Shloka 56
भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः
Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array
सम्प्रदीप्तां महोल्काभामशनिं ज्वलितामिव । तत्पश्चात् उसने पर्वतोंको भी विदीर्ण कर डालनेवाली प्रज्वलित उल्का एवं वज्रके समान प्रकाशित होनेवाली एक महाशक्ति हाथमें ली
sampradīptāṃ maholkābhām aśaniṃ jvalitām iva | tatpaścāt mahāśaktiṃ hastam ādade parvatān api vidārayituṃ samarthām ulkāvajravat prakāśamānām |
Sañjaya said: Thereafter he took into his hand a great spear, blazing fiercely—like a huge meteor and like a flaming thunderbolt—radiant and terrible, capable of rending even mountains. The scene intensifies the moral weight of the battle: weapons are not merely instruments of victory, but embodiments of destructive power that test restraint, duty, and the limits of righteous conduct in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war magnifies destructive capability, implicitly challenging warriors to remain within dharma: power must be governed by restraint, proportionality, and righteous intent, even amid escalating violence.
Sañjaya describes a combatant taking up a terrifyingly radiant mahāśakti, compared to a blazing meteor and a thunderbolt, emphasizing the imminent escalation of battle and the lethal force about to be unleashed.