Shloka 17
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
वरुण: पाशभूृच्चापि सगदो वा धनेश्वर: । न तु भीष्म: सुसंक्रुद्ध: शक््यो जेतुं महाहवे
varuṇaḥ pāśabhṛc cāpi sagado vā dhaneśvaraḥ | na tu bhīṣmaḥ susaṃkruddhaḥ śakyo jetuṃ mahāhave ||
ಪಾಶಧಾರಿ ವರುಣನನ್ನಾಗಲಿ, ಗದಾಧಾರಿ ಧನಾಧಿಪ ಕುಬೇರನನ್ನಾಗಲಿ ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಯಿಸಬಹುದು; ಆದರೆ ಈ ಮಹಾಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ಕ್ರುದ್ಧನಾದ ಭೀಷ್ಮನನ್ನು ಜಯಿಸುವುದು ಅಸಾಧ್ಯ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the extraordinary, near-unassailable power of Bhīṣma when roused, implying that opposing a dharmic elder-warrior at the height of righteous wrath is both strategically perilous and ethically weighty.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield situation, magnifies Bhīṣma’s might by comparing him to formidable divine figures (Varuṇa and Kubera), concluding that while even such beings might be defeated, an enraged Bhīṣma in the great war cannot be.