संजय उवाच
कुरवः पाण्डवैः सार्धं यथायुध्यन्त भारत ॥
यथा च तद् अभूद् युद्धं तत् ते वक्ष्यामि शृण्वतः ॥
प्रेषिताः परलोकाय परमास्त्रैः किरीटिना ॥
अहन्य् अहनि संप्राप्तास् तावकानां रथव्रजाः ॥
यथाप्रतिज्ञं कौरव्यः स चापि समितिंजयः ॥
पार्थानाम् अकरोद् भीष्मः सततं समितिक्षयम् ॥
कुरुभिः सहितं भीष्मं युध्यमानं महारथम् ॥
अर्जुनं च सपाञ्चाल्यं दृष्ट्वा संशयिता जनाः ॥
दशमे ऽहनि तस्मिंस् तु भीष्मार्जुनसमागमे ॥
अवर्तत महारौद्रः सततं समितिक्षयः ॥
तस्मिन्न् अयुतशो राजन् भूयश् च स परंतपः ॥
भीष्मः शांतनवो योधाञ् जघान परमास्त्रवित् ॥
येषाम् अज्ञातकल्पानि नामगोत्राणि पार्थिव ॥
ते हतास् तत्र भीष्मेण शूराः सर्वे ऽनिवर्तिनः ॥
दशाहानि ततस् तप्त्वा भीष्मः पाण्डववाहिनीम् ॥
निरविद्यत धर्मात्मा जीवितेन परंतपः ॥
स क्षिप्रं वधम् अन्विच्छन्न् आत्मनो ऽभिमुखं रणे ॥
न हन्यां मानवश्रेष्ठान् संग्रामे ऽभिमुखान् इति ॥
चिन्तयित्वा महाबाहुः पिता देवव्रतस् तव ॥
अभ्याशस्थं महाराज पाण्डवं वाक्यम् अब्रवीत् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
kuravaḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ sārdhaṃ yathāyudhyanta bhārata ||
yathā ca tad abhūd yuddhaṃ tat te vakṣyāmi śṛṇvataḥ ||
preṣitāḥ paralokāya paramāstraiḥ kirīṭinā ||
ahany ahani saṃprāptās tāvakānāṃ rathavrajāḥ ||
yathāpratijñaṃ kauravyaḥ sa cāpi samitiṃjayaḥ ||
pārthānām akarod bhīṣmaḥ satataṃ samitikṣayam ||
kurubhiḥ sahitaṃ bhīṣmaṃ yudhyamānaṃ mahāratham ||
arjunaṃ ca sapāñcālyaṃ dṛṣṭvā saṃśayitā janāḥ ||
daśame 'hani tasmiṃs tu bhīṣmārjunasamāgame ||
avartata mahāraudraḥ satataṃ samitikṣayaḥ ||
tasminn ayutaśo rājan bhūyaś ca sa paraṃtapaḥ ||
bhīṣmaḥ śāṃtanavo yodhāñ jaghāna paramāstravit ||
yeṣām ajñātakalpāni nāmagotrāṇi pārthiva ||
te hatās tatra bhīṣmeṇa śūrāḥ sarve 'nivartinaḥ ||
daśāhāni tatas taptvā bhīṣmaḥ pāṇḍavavāhinīm ||
niravidyata dharmātmā jīvitena paraṃtapaḥ ||
sa kṣipraṃ vadham anvicchann ātmano 'bhimukhaṃ raṇe ||
na hanyāṃ mānavaśreṣṭhān saṃgrāme 'bhimukhān iti ||
cintayitvā mahābāhuḥ pitā devavratas tava ||
abhyāśasthaṃ mahārāja pāṇḍavaṃ vākyam abravīt ||
Sanjaya said: "How the Kurus fought with the Pandavas, O Bharata, and what that battle was like, I will tell you; listen. Day after day the ranks of your chariots, struck down by the supreme weapons of Kiritin, departed to the other world. And Bhishma, that Kauravya, conqueror in battles, true to his vow, wrought constant destruction among the army of the Parthas without pause. Seeing on one side Bhishma, the great chariot-warrior, fighting together with the Kurus, and on the other Arjuna with the Panchalas, people did not know how it would all end. On the tenth day, when Bhishma and Arjuna met, there unfolded a most terrible, unceasing slaughter of the armies. There, O king, Shantanava Bhishma, knower of the supreme weapons, once again slew warriors by the tens of thousands. Heroes whose names and lineages were almost unknown, all unyielding, were slain there by Bhishma. But after Bhishma had scorched the Pandava army for ten days, this righteous-souled destroyer of foes grew weary of life. Seeking a swift death for himself in battle, he thought: 'I will not kill the best of men who stand before me in the fight.' Having pondered this, the mighty-armed Devavrata, your forefather, spoke to the Pandava who stood nearby, O great king."
6cf40d8c134c · published Jul 17, 2026, 10:03:50 PM UTC
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Sanjaya shows the two sides of Bhishma's vow: outwardly he destroys the army without pause, but inwardly he already refuses to continue senseless bloodshed. His righteousness shows itself not as weakness but as the ability to stop where victory would become a spiritual loss.