प्रभज्यमानं तत् सैन्यं दृष्ट्वा देवकिनन्दनः ॥
उवाच पार्थं बीभत्सुं निगृह्य रथम् उत्तमम् ॥
अयं स कालः संप्राप्तः पार्थ यः काङ्क्षितस् त्वया ॥
प्रहरास्मै नरव्याघ्र न चेन् मोहाद् विमुह्यसे ॥
यत् त्वया कथितं वीर पुरा राज्ञां समागमे ॥
भीष्मद्रोणमुखान् सर्वान् धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सैनिकान् ॥
सानुबन्धान् हनिष्यामि ये मां योत्स्यन्ति संयुगे ॥
इति तत् कुरु कौन्तेय सत्यं वाक्यम् अरिंदम ॥
बीभत्सो पश्य सैन्यं स्वं भज्यमानं समन्ततः ॥
द्रवतश् च महीपालान् सर्वान् यौधिष्ठिरे बले ॥
दृष्ट्वा हि समरे भीष्मं व्यात्ताननम् इवान्तकम् ॥
भयार्ताः संप्रणश्यन्ति सिंहं क्षुद्रमृगा इव ॥
एवम् उक्तः प्रत्युवाच वासुदेवं धनंजयः ॥
चोदयाश्वान् यतो भीष्मो विगाह्यैतद् बलार्णवम् ॥
prabhajyamānaṃ tat sainyaṃ dṛṣṭvā devakinandanaḥ ||
uvāca pārthaṃ bībhatsuṃ nigṛhya ratham uttamam ||
ayaṃ sa kālaḥ saṃprāptaḥ pārtha yaḥ kāṅkṣitas tvayā ||
praharāsmai naravyāghra na cen mohād vimuhyase ||
yat tvayā kathitaṃ vīra purā rājñāṃ samāgame ||
bhīṣmadroṇamukhān sarvān dhārtarāṣṭrasya sainikān ||
sānubandhān haniṣyāmi ye māṃ yotsyanti saṃyuge ||
iti tat kuru kaunteya satyaṃ vākyam ariṃdama ||
bībhatso paśya sainyaṃ svaṃ bhajyamānaṃ samantataḥ ||
dravataś ca mahīpālān sarvān yaudhiṣṭhire bale ||
dṛṣṭvā hi samare bhīṣmaṃ vyāttānanam ivāntakam ||
bhayārtāḥ saṃpraṇaśyanti siṃhaṃ kṣudramṛgā iva ||
evam uktaḥ pratyuvāca vāsudevaṃ dhanaṃjayaḥ ||
codayāśvān yato bhīṣmo vigāhyaitad balārṇavam ||
Seeing that army being routed, the son of Devaki reined in his splendid chariot and said to Partha Bibhatsu: "O Partha, the very hour you have longed for has come. Strike him, tiger among men, if you are not bewildered by delusion. What you, O hero, declared before in the assembly of kings — 'I will slay all the soldiers of Dhritarashtra's son, headed by Bhishma and Drona, together with their followers, whoever fights me in battle' — fulfill that now, O son of Kunti; make your word true, O tamer of foes. Bibhatsu, look at your own army being routed on every side, and at all the kings in the host of Yudhishthira put to flight. Seeing Bhishma in battle, like Death with jaws agape, they flee in terror, as small creatures flee before a lion." Thus addressed, Dhananjaya answered Vasudeva: "Drive the horses to where Bhishma is, plunging into this ocean of an army."
7b37b2175129 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:22:45 PM UTC
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Krishna reminds Arjuna not merely of a warrior's duty but of a vow spoken before kings. For a kshatriya, words uttered in an assembly become a measure of inner truth: left unfulfilled in action, they turn into emptiness.