Shloka 426
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
भीष्म: श्वेतश्व युयुधे परस्परवधैषिणौ । तदनन्तर वे दोनों पुरुषश्रेष्ठ भीष्म और श्वेत अपने अस्त्रोंद्वारा विपक्षीके अस्त्रोंका निवारण करके एक-दूसरेको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे युद्ध करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ śvetaśva yuyudhe parasparavadhaiṣiṇau | tadanantaraṃ tau dvau puruṣaśreṣṭhau bhīṣmaś ca śvetaś ca svair astrair vipakṣasyāstrāṇi nivārya parasparaṃ hantum icchantau yuddhaṃ cakratuḥ |
Wika ni Sanjaya: Naglaban si Bhishma at si Shvetashva, kapwa naglalayon sa kamatayan ng isa’t isa. Pagkaraan, ang dalawang pinakadakila sa mga lalaki—si Bhishma at si Shvetashva—ay sumalag sa mga palaso at sandata ng kaaway sa pamamagitan ng sarili nilang mga sandata, at muling sumuong sa sagupaan, udyok ng pagnanais na pabagsakin at patayin ang katunggali.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield application of kṣatriya-dharma: disciplined skill (warding off weapons) is directed toward decisive victory. It reflects the tension in epic ethics—restraint and mastery exist alongside the accepted duty to fight lethally when war is deemed unavoidable.
Sanjaya describes a direct duel: Bhishma and Shvetashva counter each other’s missiles with their own weapons and then continue fighting, each determined to kill the other.