Shloka 8
Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse
ततो<हं जामदग्न्याय भृशं क्रोधसमन्वित: । चिक्षेप मृत्युसंकाशं बाणं सर्पविषोपमम्,तब मैंने भी अत्यन्त कुपित हो सर्पविषके समान भयंकर मृत्युतुल्य बाण लेकर परशुरामजीके ऊपर चलाया
tato ’haṃ jāmadagnyāya bhṛśaṃ krodha-samanvitaḥ | cikṣepa mṛtyu-saṅkāśaṃ bāṇaṃ sarpa-viṣopamam ||
“Lalu, dikuasai amarah yang amat membara, aku melontar kepada Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma) sebatang anak panah yang tampak seperti Maut sendiri—mengerikan, dan berbisa seperti ular.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger can intensify a dispute into lethal action, even for a principled warrior. It implicitly warns that when wrath takes command, ethical restraint becomes harder to maintain, and conflict shifts from measured contest to potentially destructive escalation.
Bhīṣma, speaking in the first person, describes a moment in his confrontation with Paraśurāma (Jāmadagnya): overwhelmed by fierce anger, he launches a deadly arrow at him, likened to Death and to serpent venom for its terrifying potency.