Shloka 7
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
भावस्ते विदितो<स्माभिरद्दुर्बुद्धे कुलपांसन । न हनिष्यन्ति गाड़ेयं पाण्डवा घृणयेति हि
bhāvas te vidito ’smābhir ad-durbuddhe kulapāṃsana | na haniṣyanti gāṅgeyaṃ pāṇḍavā ghṛṇayeti hi ||
三阇耶说：你的心思我们早已洞悉，恶慧之徒、族门之耻！你所倚仗的不过是：般度五子出于怜悯，必不杀恒河之子毗湿摩。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between compassion and the harsh necessities of war: relying on an opponent’s mercy as a tactic is morally suspect, and true kṣatriya-dharma demands clear judgment rather than exploiting virtue.
Sañjaya rebukes the addressee (implicitly Duryodhana) for banking on the Pāṇḍavas’ compassion—specifically, the belief that they will refrain from killing Bhīṣma (Gāṅgeya), a revered elder—thereby exposing a strategic calculation rooted in their moral restraint.