भीष्म उवाच
ततो रात्र्यां व्यतीतायां प्रतिबुद्धो ऽस्मि भारत ॥
तं च संचिन्त्य वै स्वप्नम् अवापं हर्षम् उत्तमम् ॥
ततः समभवद् युद्धं मम तस्य च भारत ॥
तुमुलं सर्वभूतानां लोमहर्षणम् अद्भुतम् ॥
ततो बाणमयं वर्षं ववर्ष मयि भार्गवः ॥
न्यवारयम् अहं तं च शरजालेन भारत ॥
ततः परमसंक्रुद्धः पुनर् एव महातपाः ॥
ह्यस्तनेनैव कोपेन शक्तिं वै प्राहिणोन् मयि ॥
इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शां यमदण्डोपमप्रभाम् ॥
ज्वलन्तीम् अग्निवत् संख्ये लेलिहानां समन्ततः ॥
bhīṣma uvāca
tato rātryāṃ vyatītāyāṃ pratibuddho 'smi bhārata ||
taṃ ca saṃcintya vai svapnam avāpaṃ harṣam uttamam ||
tataḥ samabhavad yuddhaṃ mama tasya ca bhārata ||
tumulaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ lomaharṣaṇam adbhutam ||
tato bāṇamayaṃ varṣaṃ vavarṣa mayi bhārgavaḥ ||
nyavārayam ahaṃ taṃ ca śarajālena bhārata ||
tataḥ paramasaṃkruddhaḥ punar eva mahātapāḥ ||
hyastanenaiva kopena śaktiṃ vai prāhiṇon mayi ||
indrāśanisamasparśāṃ yamadaṇḍopamaprabhām ||
jvalantīm agnivat saṃkhye lelihānāṃ samantataḥ ||
Bhishma said: Then, when the night had passed, I awoke, O Bharata, and, recalling that dream, I felt supreme joy. After this, O Bharata, my battle with him began — tumultuous, wondrous, and making the hair of all beings stand on end. Then the Bhargava rained upon me a shower of arrows, and I, O Bharata, warded it off with a net of arrows. Then the great ascetic, enraged anew by that same wrath of the day before, once more hurled a spear at me: it struck like Indra's thunderbolt, shone like the rod of Yama, blazed in battle like fire, and licked all around with flame.
3695127422c9 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:04 AM UTC
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In this chapter, the instruction received in sleep turns into action, but before the Prasvapa can be used, the battle reaches its most perilous edge: two brahmastras meet. The world responds not as a spectator but as a living whole — the sky blazes, the quarters smoke, and creatures suffer from the heat. This shows that the supreme weapon is not a mere technique for victory; it touches the very order of the cosmos. Bhishma waits for the moment to use the Prasvapa not out of a wish to destroy Rama, but to halt the destruction without killing his teacher. Thus dharma here calls not for maximum force, but for measure.