Shloka 4

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

यत्र भीष्ममुखान्‌ सर्वान्‌ शस्त्रज्ञान्‌ योधसत्तमान्‌ । पाण्डवानामनीकेषु योधयन्ति प्रहारिण:

Transliteration

yatra bhīṣmamukhān sarvān śastrajñān yodhasattamān | pāṇḍavānām anīkeṣu yodhayanti prahāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “Ở nơi nào các dũng tướng hàng đầu của ta—do Bhīṣma dẫn đầu, tất thảy tinh thông khoa học binh khí và là bậc thượng thừa trong hàng chiến sĩ—đang được điều động giao chiến với các đạo quân của Pāṇḍava, giữa cơn dồn ép của chiến trận mà ra đòn rồi lại đáp đòn?”

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• भीष्ममुखान्: having Bhishma as their leader/front (i.e., led by Bhishma)
• भीष्ममुखान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीष्ममुख
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• शस्त्रज्ञान्: knowing weapons; skilled in arms
• शस्त्रज्ञान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शस्त्रज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• योधसत्तमान्: the best of warriors
• योधसत्तमान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योधसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पाण्डवानाम्: of the Pandavas
• पाण्डवानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अनीकेषु: in the armies/formations
• अनीकेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनीक
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• योधयन्ति: they cause to fight / they engage (them) in battle
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada, true

• प्रहारिणः: the strikers/assailants
• प्रहारिणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रहारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Bhīṣma
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of war under kṣatriya-dharma: leadership (Bhīṣma at the head), disciplined martial knowledge (śastrajñāḥ), and the organized reality of battle (anīkas). It also implicitly reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious dependence on commanders and formations rather than on righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, seeking to understand the unfolding battle, refers to the scene where Bhīṣma and other elite Kaurava warriors are engaging the Pāṇḍava forces within their divisions/formations, delivering blows as the fighting intensifies.