Shloka 13

Devanagari script

भीष्मे च युधि विक्रान्ते पाण्डवे च धनंजये । ते पराक्रान्तमालोक्य राजन्‌ युधि पितामहम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣme ca yudhi vikrānte pāṇḍave ca dhanañjaye | te parākrāntam ālokya rājan yudhi pitāmaham |

Translation

യുദ്ധത്തിൽ ഭീഷ്മൻ പരാക്രമം പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കുമ്പോഴും പാണ്ഡവനായ ധനഞ്ജയൻ (അർജുനൻ) അതുപോലെ വീര്യത്തോടെ മുന്നേറുമ്പോഴും, രാജാവേ, रणഭൂമിയിൽ പിതാമഹന്റെ ആ പ്രചണ്ഡ പരാക്രമം കണ്ടിട്ട് അവർ (യോദ്ധാക്കൾ)—

Word by Word

भीष्मेin/when Bhishma

चand

युधिin battle

विक्रान्तेhaving advanced/being valiant

पाण्डवेin/when the Pandava

चand

धनंजयेin/when Dhananjaya (Arjuna)

तेthey

पराक्रान्तम्valiant, having exerted prowess

आलोक्यhaving seen

राजन्O king

युधिin battle

पितामहम्the grandsire (Bhishma)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Arjuna (Dhanañjaya)

Pāṇḍava(s)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan')

Pitāmaha (title of Bhīṣma)

Kurukṣetra battlefield (implied by yudhi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: even revered elders like Bhīṣma, bound by duty and allegiance, display formidable valor, while Arjuna—also bound by kṣatriya-dharma—meets that challenge. It underscores how dharma in the epic often appears as competing obligations rather than simple moral binaries.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma is powerfully advancing in battle, and Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) is also pressing forward. The surrounding warriors observe Bhīṣma’s fierce onslaught on the battlefield, setting up their subsequent response.