Shloka 23
भीष्म–रामजामदग्न्ययुद्धप्रस्थानवर्णनम्
Bhishma’s Account of Parashurama’s Challenge and the March to Kurukshetra
ततः पुनः शरं दीप्तं सुप्रभं कालसम्मितम् । असृजं जामदग्न्याय रामायाहं जिघांसया,तब मैंने पुनः जमदग्निनन्दन परशुरामकी ओर उन्हें मार डालनेकी इच्छासे एक कालाग्निके समान प्रज्वलित तथा तेजस्वी बाण छोड़ा
tataḥ punaḥ śaraṃ dīptaṃ suprabhaṃ kālasammitam | asṛjaṃ jāmadagnyāya rāmāyāhaṃ jighāṃsayā ||
പിന്നീട് വീണ്ടും, അവനെ വധിക്കണമെന്ന ഉദ്ദേശത്തോടെ, ജമദഗ്ന്യനായ രാമൻ (പരശുരാമൻ) നേരെ കാലാഗ്നിപോലെ ജ്വലിക്കുന്ന, അത്യന്തം ദീപ്തമായ ഒരു അമ്പ് ഞാൻ വിട്ടു.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stern ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: once a duel is joined, even revered status does not exempt an opponent from decisive action. It also invokes Kāla (Time/Death) to underscore how warfare places human agency under the shadow of inevitability and mortal consequence.
Bhīṣma, speaking in the first person, describes a moment in his combat with Paraśurāma: he again shoots a blazing, deadly arrow at Rāma Jāmadagnya, explicitly stating his intent to kill.