Shloka 3
कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies
प्रजापतिमिवौदार्ये तेजसा भास्करोपमम् | महेन्द्रमिव शत्रूणां ध्वंसनं शरवृष्टिभि:
prajāpatim ivaudārye tejasā bhāskaropamam | mahendram iva śatrūṇāṁ dhvaṁsanaṁ śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ || janamejaya uvāca ||
Janamejaya berkata: “Dalam kemurahan hati baginda seperti Prajāpati; dalam sinar keagungan baginda laksana Suria. Dengan hujan anak panah baginda memusnahkan musuh seperti Indra yang agung. Setelah mendengar bahawa Bhīṣma, putera Gaṅgā—jiwa besar, terunggul antara pemegang senjata dan menjulang antara raja-raja seperti panji—telah mengambil dikṣā yang panjang bagi ‘yajña peperangan’ yang menggerunkan dan menggetarkan itu yang baru bermula, apakah yang dikatakan Yudhiṣṭhira, berlengan perkasa dan terkemuka antara para pahlawan? Apakah kata Bhīmasena dan Arjuna? Dan bagaimana Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa menyatakan pandangannya?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Bhīṣma’s martial excellence within ethical and cosmic ideals: generosity (Prajāpati), radiance (Sun), and enemy-subduing power (Indra). By calling war a ‘raṇa-yajña’ and Bhīṣma’s commitment a ‘dīkṣā’, it highlights how kṣatriya action is traditionally interpreted as a vowed duty requiring discipline, restraint, and accountability—not mere violence.
Janamejaya, hearing that Bhīṣma has effectively ‘taken vows’ for the impending terrible conflict, asks Vaiśaṃpāyana to report the reactions and counsel among the Pāṇḍava side—what Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, and Arjuna said, and how Kṛṣṇa articulated his opinion—setting up the next portion of the dialogue and strategy.