Shloka 10
Chapter 89: Bhīma dispatched to protect Ghaṭotkaca amid escalating engagements
तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए राजा युधिष्ठिरने कुरुवंशी महात्मा भीष्मपर विषधर सर्पके समान नाराचका प्रहार किया ।।
sañjaya uvāca | atha krodhabhṛto rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ kurūdvahaṃ mahātmānaṃ bhīṣmaṃ viṣadhara-sarpa-sannibhaṃ nārācaṃ prāhiṇot || asamprāptaṃ tataḥ taṃ tu kṣurapreṇa mahārathaḥ | ciccheda samare rājan bhīṣmas tasya dhanuṣyutam ||
Disse Sañjaya: Então o rei Yudhiṣṭhira, cheio de ira, arremessou contra Bhīṣma —magnânimo, o primeiro entre os Kurus— uma flecha nārāca, como serpente portadora de veneno. Mas antes que aquele dardo, solto do arco de Yudhiṣṭhira, pudesse alcançá-lo, o grande guerreiro de carro Bhīṣma, ó rei, cortou-o no campo de batalha com uma flecha de ponta afiada como navalha.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a dharma-minded person like Yudhiṣṭhira can be overtaken by krodha (anger) under the pressures of war; the episode highlights the ethical danger of wrath and the ideal of steadiness and mastery (seen in Bhīṣma’s composed, skillful response) amid violent duty.
Sanjaya describes Yudhiṣṭhira, enraged, shooting a nārāca at Bhīṣma; Bhīṣma intercepts it before it reaches him, slicing it mid-course with a razor-headed arrow, demonstrating superior battlefield precision.