Shloka 35
विनिधघ्नन् पृथिवीपालांश्वेदिपाज्चालकेकयान्
vinidhaghnan pṛthivīpālāñ chedi-pāñcāla-kekayān | “mūrkha duryodhana naukārahitaḥ vipattike sāgare dūba rahā thā; ataḥ bhīṣmaḥ tasya uddhāraṃ kartum aicchat | sa cedi-pāñcāla-kekaya-nṛpān vadhayan ratha-aśva-rathibhiḥ paripūrṇāṃ pāṇḍava-senāṃ bhasma-sāt cakāra” ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “Sa pagpatay sa mga haring taga-Cedi, Panchala, at Kekaya, si Bhīṣma—na ibig iligtas ang hangal na si Duryodhana, na wari’y taong lumulubog sa mapanganib na dagat na walang bangka—ay sinunog at nilipol ang hukbong Pāṇḍava na siksik sa mga karwahe, kabayo, at mga mandirigmang nakasakay sa karwahe.” Inilalarawan ng sipi ang bagsik ni Bhīṣma bilang tapat na pag-iingat sa kanyang panig, habang lalo nitong pinaiitim ang trahedyang moral ng pagpatay sa sariling kamag-anak sa digmaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how loyalty and the impulse to protect one’s own can drive extreme violence in war. It implicitly raises a dharmic tension: even a revered elder like Bhishma, acting from duty and allegiance, becomes an instrument of vast destruction—showing how adharma at the leadership level (Duryodhana’s folly) pulls many into catastrophic consequences.
Sanjaya describes Bhishma’s battlefield onslaught: to save Duryodhana, portrayed as drowning in a crisis, Bhishma kills prominent allied kings of the Pandavas’ side (Cedi, Panchala, Kekaya) and devastates the Pandava forces filled with chariots, horses, and chariot-fighters.