Shloka 66
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
नैतादृशानि युद्धानि भविष्यन्ति कथठ्चन । न हि शक््यो रणे जेतुं भीष्म: पार्थेन धीमता
naitādṛśāni yuddhāni bhaviṣyanti kathaṃcana | na hi śakyo raṇe jetuṃ bhīṣmaḥ pārthena dhīmatā ||
Sañjaya disse: “Nunca mais, de modo algum, ocorrerão guerras como estas. Pois, no campo de batalha, Bhīṣma não pode ser verdadeiramente vencido pelo sábio Pārtha (Arjuna).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the extraordinary, almost unparalleled nature of the Kurukṣetra war and highlights Bhīṣma’s near-invincibility in righteous combat—suggesting that victory is not merely a matter of skill but is bound up with destiny, vows, and the moral complexity of dharma in war.
Sañjaya, reporting the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, expresses astonishment at the scale and intensity of the conflict and remarks that even Arjuna (Pārtha), though wise and supremely skilled, cannot straightforwardly defeat Bhīṣma in open battle.