Shloka 96
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
(कथमस्मद्विध: कृष्ण जानन् धर्म सनातनम् | न्यस्तशस्त्रे च वृद्धे च प्रहरेद्धि पितामहे ।।
katham asmadvidhaḥ kṛṣṇa jānan dharmaṃ sanātanam | nyastaśastre ca vṛddhe ca prahared dhi pitāmahe ||
vāyudeva uvāca |
pratijñāya vadhaṃ jiṣṇo purā bhīṣmasya saṃyuge | kṣatradharme sthitaḥ pārtha kathaṃ nainaṃ haniṣyasi ||
風神ヴァーユは言った。「クリシュナよ。永遠のダルマを知る我がごとき者が、武器を捨てた老いた祖父に、どうして打ちかかれようか。」 ヴァーユは続けた。「ジシュヌ（アルジュナ）よ。汝はかつて戦場にて、ビーシュマの死を成就させると誓った。クシャトリヤの法に立つパールタよ、今になってどうして彼を討たずにいられようか。」
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic dharma-conflict: reverence and compassion toward an aged, disarmed elder versus the binding force of a warrior’s duty and a publicly made vow. It highlights that dharma in the epic is situational and can demand difficult choices where competing obligations must be weighed.
In the Bhīṣma Parva battle setting, Vāyu voices the moral hesitation: striking Bhīṣma, the revered grandsire, especially when he is old and has laid down weapons, seems contrary to eternal dharma. The response (as preserved in this verse’s continuation) presses Arjuna to remember his earlier pledge to bring about Bhīṣma’s death and to act in accordance with kṣatriya-dharma on the battlefield.