Shloka 41
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
त॑ं शिखण्डी त्रिभिबाणिरभ्यविध्यत् स्तनान्तरे । आशीविषमिव क्रुद्धं कालसृष्टमिवान्तकम्,तब शिखण्डीने तीन बाणोंसे भीष्मकी छातीमें प्रहार किया। उस समय वे कालप्रेरित मृत्यु तथा क्रोधमें भरे हुए विषधर सर्पके समान जान पड़ते थे
taṁ śikhaṇḍī tribhir bāṇair abhyavidhyat stanāntare | āśīviṣam iva kruddhaṁ kālasṛṣṭam ivāntakam ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Pagkaraan, tinamaan ni Śikhaṇḍī si Bhīṣma ng tatlong palaso sa pagitan ng dibdib. Noon, si Bhīṣma’y wari’y isang nagngangalit na ahas na makamandag, at parang mismong Kamatayan na isinugo ng Panahon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of mortality under the governance of Kāla (Time) and the heavy ethical atmosphere of war: even a righteous and formidable elder like Bhīṣma is drawn toward his destined end, reminding readers that power and valor do not exempt one from consequence and fate.
Sañjaya reports that Śikhaṇḍī shoots three arrows into Bhīṣma’s chest. Bhīṣma is described through intense similes—like an enraged venomous serpent and like Death dispatched by Time—emphasizing both his terrifying martial presence and the ominous turning point of the battle.