Shloka 22

भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्

Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash

Devanagari script

को हि गाण्डीवधन्वानमन्य: कुरुपितामहात्‌

Transliteration

ko hi gāṇḍīvadhanvān anyaḥ kurupitāmahāt

Translation

サञ्जャヤは言った。クル族の大祖父ビーシュマをおいて、誰がガーンディーヴァの弓を執る者に抗し得ようか。

Word by Word

• कः: who
• कः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• गाण्डीवधन्वानम्: the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna)
• गाण्डीवधन्वानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीवधन्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अन्यः: another/anyone else
• अन्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरुपितामहात्: than the grandsire of the Kurus (Bhīṣma)
• कुरुपितामहात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुपितामह
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna (Gāṇḍīvadhanvān)
• Bhīṣma (Kurupitāmaha)
• Gāṇḍīva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of rightful excellence: extraordinary power (Arjuna’s mastery) should be met only by equally weighty responsibility and stature (Bhīṣma as elder and guardian of Kuru order). It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between personal virtue and the tragic compulsion of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, emphasizes that Arjuna is so formidable that only Bhīṣma—revered as the Kurus’ grandsire and foremost warrior—can be imagined as his true opponent.