Shloka 28
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
त॑ विनाशं मनुष्येन्द्र नरवारणवाजिनाम् । नामृष्यत तदा भीष्म: सैन्यघातं रणे परै:
taṁ vināśaṁ manuṣyendra naravāraṇavājinām | nāmṛṣyata tadā bhīṣmaḥ sainyaghātaṁ raṇe paraiḥ ||
三阇耶说道：“人中之主啊，那时毗湿摩再也无法忍受人、象、马的覆灭——在战场上，敌军对己方军队所施加的屠戮。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of warfare: even a disciplined, duty-bound commander like Bhīṣma is morally and emotionally strained when he witnesses indiscriminate devastation—especially the destruction of those under his protection. It points to the tension between kṣatriya duty and compassion for living beings.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, seeing his own side’s forces—men, elephants, and horses—being cut down by the enemy in battle, could not bear the sight. This sets the tone for Bhīṣma’s response and the escalating intensity of the conflict.