Shloka 34
भीष्मधृतराष्ट्रसंवादः — पाण्डवबलप्रशंसा
Bhishma–Dhritarashtra Dialogue: Appraisal of Pandava Strength
एष राक्षससैन्यानां सर्वेषां रथसत्तम: । मायावी दृढवैरश्न समरे विचरिष्यति,मायावी, वैरभावको दृढ़तापूर्वक सुरक्षित रखनेवाला तथा समस्त राक्षस सैनिकोंमें श्रेष्ठ रथी यह अलम्बुष संग्रामभूमिमें (निर्भय होकर) विचरेगा
eṣa rākṣasa-sainyānāṁ sarveṣāṁ ratha-sattamaḥ | māyāvī dṛḍha-vairaś ca samare vicariṣyati ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Orang ini ialah yang terbaik antara semua pahlawan kereta perang dalam bala tentera Rākṣasa—mahir dalam tipu daya dan teguh dalam permusuhan. Di medan laga, dia akan merayau di seluruh gelanggang perang tanpa gentar.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension in warfare: prowess and effectiveness may be joined with māyā (deceptive tactics) and entrenched enmity. It implicitly warns that battlefield success can be driven by qualities that are powerful yet ethically ambivalent, urging discernment about means as well as ends.
Bhīṣma is describing a formidable Rākṣasa warrior—identified in the accompanying tradition as Alambuṣa—praising him as the foremost chariot-fighter among the Rākṣasa forces, adept in illusion and steadfast in hostility, who will actively range across the battlefield during the coming war.