Shloka 666
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
को<थ वोत्सहते जेतु त्वां पुमान् भरतर्षभ । शत्रुवीरोंका नाश करनेवाले भरतश्रेष्ठ. आप रथ, अश्व, पैदल मनुष्य और हाथियोंका भी संहार करनेवाले हैं। कौन पुरुष आपको जीतनेका साहस कर सकता है?
ko 'tha vo 'tsahate jetuṁ tvāṁ pumān bharatarṣabha | śatruvīrāṇāṁ nāśa-kartā bharataśreṣṭha, tvaṁ ratha-aśva-pādāta-gaja-saṁhāra-kartāsi; kaḥ pumāṁs tvāṁ jetuṁ śaknoti ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Siapakah di antara manusia yang berani menewaskan engkau, wahai lembu jantan kaum Bharata? Wahai yang terbaik di antara Bharata, engkau pemusnah para pahlawan musuh; engkau menumbangkan kereta, kuda, askar berjalan kaki, bahkan gajah. Lelaki manakah yang mempunyai keberanian untuk mengalahkan engkau?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral-psychological force of recognized prowess in war: when a warrior’s capacity to protect and to destroy is evident, it shapes the battlefield’s ethics and decision-making—courage, fear, and duty (kṣatriya-dharma) are tested against overwhelming strength.
Sanjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra war, praises a foremost Bharata warrior’s irresistible might, describing him as capable of destroying all four arms of an army—chariots, cavalry, infantry, and elephants—and asks rhetorically who could dare to defeat him.