Shloka 112
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
विकृष्य बलवान् भीष्म: समाधत्त दुरासदम् | ब्रह्मास्त्रेण सुसंयुक्त तं शरं लोमवाहिनम्
sañjaya uvāca | vikṛṣya balavān bhīṣmaḥ samādhatta durāsadam | brahmāstreṇa susaṃyuktaṃ taṃ śaraṃ lomavāhinam ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Hinila ng malakas na Bhīṣma ang kaniyang busog at inilapat dito ang isang kakila-kilabot na palaso, mahirap salagin. Ang palasong iyon ay may mga balahibong nakapanghihilakbot; saka niya ito pinalakas sa pamamagitan ng Brahmāstra, ginawang sandatang di-mapipigil, at pinakawalan—tangan ang hangaring tumama kahit sa pinakamahirap na puntirya. Ipinakikita ng tagpong ito ang madilim na pag-igting ng digmaan, kung saan ang kasanayan sa mga banal na sandata ay ibinabaling sa pagwasak, hindi sa pagpipigil.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary power—especially sacred or divinely sanctioned power—can be directed toward harm when war intensifies. It implicitly raises an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata: kṣatriya prowess and duty may demand battle, yet the use of overwhelming astras calls for discernment and restraint, since such force magnifies suffering and narrows the space for dharmic choice.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma drawing his bow, setting a formidable feathered arrow, empowering it with the Brahmāstra, and releasing it. The action signals a decisive, high-stakes moment in combat where a great warrior escalates to a supreme missile to overcome an otherwise difficult-to-defeat opponent or target.