Shloka 12
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
'सत्यप्रतिज्ञ और महान् शक्तिशाली भीष्मजीने कौरवसैनिकोंके बीचमें उनका हर्ष बढ़ाते हुए जो यह कहा था कि मैं सूंजय वीरोंकी सेनाका तथा शाल्वदेशके सैनिकोंका भी संहार कर डालूँगा। इन सबके मारनेका भार मेरे ही ऊपर है। दुर्योधन! मैं ट्रोणाचार्यके बिना भी सम्पूर्ण जगत्का संहार कर सकता हूँ; अतः तुम्हें पाण्डवोंसे कोई भय नहीं है। भीष्मके इस वचनसे ही तूने अपने मनमें यह धारणा बना ली है कि राज्य मुझे ही प्राप्त होगा और पाण्डव भारी विपत्तिमें पड़ जायँगे ।। स दर्पपूर्णो न समीक्षसे त्व- मनर्थमात्मन्यपि वर्तमानम् | तस्मादहं ते प्रथमं समूहे हन्ता समक्ष कुरुवृद्धमेव,“इसीलिये तू घमंडमें भरकर अपने ऊपर आये हुए वर्तमान संकटको नहीं देख पाता है, अतः मैं सबसे पहले तेरे सेनासमूहमें प्रवेश करके कुरुकुलके वृद्ध पुरुष भीष्मका ही तेरी आँखोंके सामने वध करूँगा
sañjaya uvāca |
satya-pratijñaḥ mahān śaktiśālī ca bhīṣmaḥ kaurava-sainikānāṃ madhye teṣāṃ harṣaṃ vardhayan yad idaṃ provāca— “ahaṃ śūñjayānāṃ vīrāṇāṃ senāṃ śālva-deśa-sainikāṃś ca saṃharāmi; eteṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ vadha-bhāro mamaivopari. duryodhana! droṇācāryaṃ vināpi ahaṃ samagraṃ jagat saṃhartum śaknomi; ataḥ pāṇḍavebhyo na te bhayam.” bhīṣmasya etad-vacanād eva tvaṃ manasi dhāraṇāṃ kṛtavān— “rājyaṃ mamaiva prāpsyate, pāṇḍavāś ca mahā-vipadi patiṣyanti.” ||
sa darpa-pūrṇo na samīkṣase tvam anartham ātmany api vartamānam |
tasmād ahaṃ te prathamaṃ samūhe hantā samakṣaṃ kuru-vṛddham eva ||
Sanjaya said: Truth-bound and immensely powerful Bhishma, standing amid the Kaurava host and inflaming their spirits, had declared: “I will destroy the armies of the Shunjas and the warriors of the Shalva country as well; the burden of slaying them all rests on me alone. Duryodhana, even without Drona I can lay waste to the whole world—therefore you need not fear the Pandavas.” From these words of Bhishma you formed the conviction that the kingdom would surely be yours and that the Pandavas would fall into great calamity. Thus, swollen with pride, you fail to see the disaster already present in your own situation; therefore I shall enter your battle-array first and, before your very eyes, slay the aged Bhishma, the elder of the Kuru line.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pride born of flattering assurances blinds a leader to present danger. The verse warns that overconfidence—especially when fed by powerful allies’ boasts—can eclipse prudent judgment and invite ruin.
Sanjaya reports that Bhishma publicly reassured Duryodhana of victory, claiming he could destroy key enemy forces even without Drona. Duryodhana, emboldened, ignores looming peril; the speaker then vows to enter the Kaurava formation and kill Bhishma, the Kuru elder, in Duryodhana’s sight.