Shloka 16
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत भीष्यवधपर्वरमें तीसरे दिनके युद्ध्ें परस्पर व्यूह-रचनाविषयक छतप्पनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,कश्चित् करिविषाणस्थो वीरो रणविशारद: । प्रावेपच्छक्तिनिर्भिन्नो गजशिक्षास्त्रवेदिना कोई रणविशारद वीर हाथीके दाँतोंपर खड़ा होकर युद्ध कर रहा था। इतनेहीमें गजशिक्षा और अस्त्रविद्याके ज्ञाता किसी विपक्षी योद्धाने उसके ऊपर शक्ति चला दी। उस शक्तिके आघातसे वक्ष:स्थल विदीर्ण हो जानेके कारण वह मरणोन्मुख वीर वहीं काँपने लगा
sañjaya uvāca | kaścit kariviṣāṇastho vīro raṇaviśāradaḥ | prāvepacchaktinirbhinno gajaśikṣāstravedinā ||
Sañjaya said: A certain heroic warrior, skilled in the ways of battle, stood poised upon an elephant’s tusk and fought on. Just then an opposing combatant—one who knew the training of elephants and the science of weapons—hurled a śakti (a heavy spear) at him. With his chest torn open by that blow, the warrior trembled on the spot, nearing death—an image of how, in war, prowess and daring are still subject to the impartial certainty of weapon-skill and fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of life amid war: even extraordinary courage and daring posture cannot override the decisive force of trained weapon-use and the inevitability of death. It implicitly cautions against pride in prowess and highlights the grave ethical weight of battlefield violence.
Sañjaya describes an unnamed hero fighting while standing on an elephant’s tusk. An enemy warrior skilled in elephant-handling and weaponry hurls a śakti at him, tearing his chest; the hero trembles and becomes near death.