Shloka 31
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तेषां जवेनापततां भीष्म: शान्तनवो रणे | पाज्चाल्यं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् सात्यकिं नवभि: शरै:
teṣāṁ javena āpatatāṁ bhīṣmaḥ śāntanavo raṇe | pāñcālyaṁ tribhir ānarccchat sātyakiṁ navabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Nang sumugod ang mga mandirigmang iyon nang ubod-bilis, sinalubong sila sa labanan ni Bhīṣma, anak ni Śāntanu. Tinamaan niya si Dhṛṣṭadyumna ng mga Pāñcāla ng tatlong palaso at si Sātyaki ng siyam—ipinamalas ang walang-urong ngunit disiplinadong lakas ng isang beteranong pinunong ang tungkulin ay pigilan ang pagsulong ng kaaway, kahit sa bigat ng digmaang pumapatay sa sariling kamag-anak.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: a commander must restrain an onrushing enemy through measured, effective force. It also implicitly underscores the ethical weight of war—skill and duty operate within a tragic field where even righteous discipline entails harm.
As a group of warriors charge forward, Bhīṣma counters their momentum. He wounds Dhṛṣṭadyumna with three arrows and Sātyaki with nine, demonstrating his battlefield superiority and his role as the Kaurava bulwark in the Kurukṣetra war.