Shloka 39
सर्वोद्यमेन महता पाण्डवा: समभिद्रवन् । “कोटि सहसख्र पैदल तथा हाथोंमें उत्तम आयुध धारण किये हुए सूंजय-सैनिक और दूसरे नरेश सूर्यदेवके समान ताप देते और समरांगणमें विचरते हुए भीष्मकी ओर आँख उठाकर देखनेमें भी समर्थ न हो सके। उस समय संग्रामभूमिमें विचरते तथा विजयसे उल्लसित होते हुए भीष्मजीपर पाण्डवयोद्धा अपनी सारी शक्ति लगाकर बड़े वेगसे टूट पड़े || ३७-३८ $ ।। स तु विद्राव्य समरे पाण्डवान् सृञज्जयानपि
sarvodyamena mahatā pāṇḍavāḥ samabhidruvan | koṭi-sahasra-paidalā tathā hāstīṣu uttamāyudha-dhāriṇaḥ sṛñjaya-sainikā anye ca nareśāḥ sūryadeva-samāḥ tāpaṃ dadānaḥ samara-aṅgaṇe vicarantaḥ api bhīṣmaṃ prati cakṣuḥ utthāpya draṣṭum api na śekuḥ | tasmin kāle saṅgrāma-bhūmau vicarantaḥ vijayena ca ullasitāḥ pāṇḍava-yoddhāḥ bhīṣmaṃ prati sarva-śaktyā mahā-vegena prāpatanta || (37–38) | sa tu vidrāvya samare pāṇḍavān sṛñjayān api ...
Sañjaya disse: Com grande esforço, os Pāṇḍavas avançaram em carga. Contudo, nem as tropas dos Sṛñjayas nem os demais reis—infantes e guerreiros sobre elefantes em milhares incontáveis, com armas excelentes nas mãos, ardendo como o Sol enquanto se moviam pelo campo—conseguiram sequer erguer os olhos para contemplar Bhīṣma. Então, os combatentes Pāṇḍavas, percorrendo a planície e exultando na esperança da vitória, lançaram-se sobre Bhīṣma com toda a força e com velocidade tremenda. Mas ele, tendo posto em fuga na batalha os Pāṇḍavas e também os Sṛñjayas…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how sheer valor and numbers do not guarantee success when confronted with extraordinary discipline and prowess. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between righteous resolve (charging with full effort) and the sobering reality that power, training, and destiny can overwhelm even well-intentioned warriors.
Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍavas and their allies launching a full-force assault on Bhīṣma. Despite the massed infantry and elephant troops and the kings’ brilliance on the field, Bhīṣma’s presence is so formidable that they cannot even look up at him; the scene then turns to Bhīṣma scattering them in battle.