Shloka 34
पित्रा तुष्टेन मे पूर्व यदा कालीमुदावहम्
sañjaya uvāca | pitrā tuṣṭena me pūrvaṃ yadā kālīm udāvaham, atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṃ sahitāḥ sarva-sṛñjayāḥ |
三阇耶说道：往昔之时，我的父亲曾因我而心满意足——就在我促成迦梨（Kālī）婚事之际——而今在战场上，诸斯林阇耶（Sṛñjaya）勇士结为一体，从四面八方齐击毗湿摩（Bhīṣma）。他们以可怖之兵——沙塔格尼（śataghni）、铁棍、帕利伽（parigha）、战斧、钉头槌、杵、长矛、投石索、金羽之箭、沙克提投枪（śakti）、托摩罗（tomara）、坎帕那（kampana）、那罗遮（nārāca）、瓦特萨丹塔（vatsadanta）与布舒ṇḍī（bhuśuṇḍī）——从各处折磨他、逼迫他。 （此时毗湿摩忆起父王所赐之恩：唯随己愿而死，且战阵之中无人能杀；故他以为，今正是自择其死之时。）
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights Bhīṣma’s extraordinary ethical predicament: protected by boons and bound by vows, he cannot be slain by others and must choose the moment of death himself. It frames death not merely as defeat but as a conscious, dharma-informed acceptance when one’s role in the moral order has reached its limit.
Sañjaya describes the Sṛñjaya warriors attacking Bhīṣma from all sides with many kinds of weapons. The scene underscores Bhīṣma’s near-invulnerability in battle and sets up his reflection on the boons received earlier—implying that only his own will can bring his fall.