Shloka 106
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
युद्ध तु मेन रुचितं ज्ञातिभिर्मधुसूदन । “मधुसूदन! रणक्षेत्रमें मेरे मुखसे ऐसी बात सुनकर ये क्षत्रिय मुझे असमर्थ समझेंगे, परंतु इन जाति-भाइयोंके साथ युद्ध करना मुझे अच्छा नहीं लगता है
yuddhaṁ tu me na rocitaṁ jñātibhir madhusūdana |
Sañjaya said: “O Madhusūdana, fighting with my own kinsmen does not appeal to me. If such words are heard from my mouth on the battlefield, these warriors will judge me incapable; yet even so, I find no joy in waging war against those who are bound to me by blood.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between social expectation (a kṣatriya’s reputation for courage and duty in war) and personal moral revulsion at harming one’s own relatives. It frames war not merely as a test of strength but as a crisis of conscience shaped by kinship and dharma.
In the Bhīṣma Parva battlefield setting, Sañjaya reports a speaker’s inner conflict: he anticipates being branded weak if he voices reluctance, yet he still feels that fighting his own kinsmen is not desirable. The line underscores the psychological and ethical stakes before combat.