Shloka 39
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
न चैनं॑ वारयामासुर्व्यात्ताननममिवान्तकम्,वे मुँह फैलाये हुए कालके समान भीष्मको रोक न सके। दसवाँ दिन आनेपर भीष्म जैसे दावाग्नि वनको जला देती है, उसी प्रकार शिखण्डीकी रथसेनाको तीखे बाणोंकी आगमें भस्म करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | na cainaṃ vārayāmāsur vyāttānanaṃ ivāntakam |
न चैनं वारयामासुर्व्यात्ताननमिवान्तकम्। दशमेऽहनि सम्प्राप्ते भीष्मः शिखण्डिरथसेनाम् तीक्ष्णशराग्निना दग्ध्वा भस्मसात् कर्तुमारेभे, दावाग्निरिव काननम्॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the unstoppable momentum of adharma-driven violence once war is fully engaged: even great warriors cannot easily ‘check’ a force like Bhīṣma when duty, wrath, and battlefield necessity converge. It invites reflection on dharma’s tragic dimension—right action in war may still entail devastating harm.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma could not be restrained and appeared like Death with open jaws. As the tenth day dawns, Bhīṣma showers sharp arrows that burn through Śikhaṇḍī’s chariot-troops, likened to a forest-fire consuming a forest.