Bhīṣma answers with a lion's roar

Where we are

Sañjaya is still describing the scene at Kurukshetra to the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra. In the previous reading, Prince Duryodhana went to his teacher Droṇa and named the great warriors of both armies, his rivals the Pāṇḍavas first and then his own commanders. In these four verses he finishes his speech with a strange comparison of the two forces and an order to guard the old commander Bhīṣma. Droṇa says nothing in reply. Instead Bhīṣma, the eldest of the family, answers with a sound.

The verses

1. 1.9

   And there are many other heroes here who are ready to lay down their lives for my sake. They carry every kind of weapon, and every one of them knows war well.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.9

   अन्ये च बहवः शूरा मदर्थे त्यक्तजीविताः ।
   नानाशस्त्रप्रहरणाः सर्वे युद्धविशारदाः ॥ ९ ॥

   anye ca bahavaḥ śūrā madarthe tyaktajīvitāḥ
   nānāśastrapraharaṇāḥ sarve yuddhaviśāradāḥ

   Say it

   un-yay chuh buh-huh-vuh-huh shoo-raa muh-dur-thay tyuk-tuh-jee-vi-taa-haa
   naa-naa-shus-truh-pruh-huh-ruh-naa-haa sur-vay yood-dhuh-vi-shaa-ruh-daa-haa

   Word by word

   anye ca bahavaḥ

   and many others

   śūrāḥ

   heroes, brave warriors

   mad-arthe

   for my sake

   tyakta-jīvitāḥ

   who have given up their lives, ready to die

   nānā-śastra-praharaṇāḥ

   armed with many kinds of weapons

   sarve

   all of them

   yuddha-viśāradāḥ

   skilled in war

2. 1.10

   Duryodhana sets the two armies side by side: his own, protected by Bhīṣma, and theirs, protected by Bhīma. The key words can be read two ways, either “our strength is beyond measure, while theirs is limited” or “our strength is not enough, while theirs is sufficient”. Readers have argued for centuries over whether he is boasting or quietly admitting fear.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.10

   अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम् ।
   पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम् ॥ १० ॥

   aparyāptaṃ tad asmākaṃ balaṃ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam
   paryāptaṃ tv idam eteṣāṃ balaṃ bhīmābhirakṣitam

   Say it

   uh-pur-yaap-tum tud us-maa-kum buh-lum bheesh-maa-bhi-ruk-shi-tum
   pur-yaap-tum tvi-duh-may-tay-shaam buh-lum bhee-maa-bhi-ruk-shi-tum

   Word by word

   aparyāptam

   unlimited, beyond measure; or: not enough, inadequate

   tat asmākam balam

   that strength of ours, our army

   bhīṣma-abhirakṣitam

   guarded by Bhīṣma

   paryāptam

   limited, measurable; or: sufficient, enough

   tu idam eteṣām balam

   but this strength of theirs

   bhīma-abhirakṣitam

   guarded by Bhīma

3. 1.11

   So all of you, holding your assigned places at every entry point of the formation, must guard Bhīṣma above everything else, every single one of you.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.11

   अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः ।
   भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥ ११ ॥

   ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu yathābhāgam avasthitāḥ
   bhīṣmam evābhirakṣantu bhavantaḥ sarva eva hi

   Say it

   uh-yuh-nay-shoo chuh sur-vay-shoo yuh-thaa-bhaa-guh-muh-vuh-sthi-taa-haa
   bheesh-muh-may-vaa-bhi-ruk-shun-too bhuh-vun-tuh-huh sur-vuh ay-vuh hi

   Word by word

   ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu

   at every point of entry, in all the positions of the formation

   yathā-bhāgam

   each in his assigned place

   avasthitāḥ

   stationed, holding firm

   bhīṣmam eva

   Bhīṣma above all

   abhirakṣantu

   must protect, guard on all sides

   bhavantaḥ sarve eva hi

   all of you, every one

4. 1.12

   Then, to lift Duryodhana's spirits, the mighty Bhīṣma, eldest of the Kurus and grandfather of the clan, let out a roar like a lion and blew his conch with great force.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.12

   तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्धः पितामहः ।
   सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चैः शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् ॥ १२ ॥

   tasya saṃjanayan harṣaṃ kuruvṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ
   siṃhanādaṃ vinadyoccaiḥ śaṅkhaṃ dadhmau pratāpavān

   Say it

   tuh-syuh sun-juh-nuh-yun hur-shum koo-roo-vrid-dhuh-huh pi-taa-muh-huh-huh
   sin-huh-naa-dum vi-nuh-dyoch-chai-hi shun-khum dudh-mau pruh-taa-puh-vaan

   Word by word

   tasya

   his (Duryodhana's)

   saṃjanayan harṣam

   stirring up joy, lifting his spirits

   kuru-vṛddhaḥ

   the eldest of the Kurus

   pitāmahaḥ

   the grandfather

   siṃha-nādam vinadya

   roaring a lion's roar

   uccaiḥ

   loudly

   śaṅkham dadhmau

   blew his conch

   pratāpavān

   the mighty, the glorious one

Context and commentary

Verse 1.10 is one of the most debated lines in Chapter 1. Paryāpta usually means “enough” or “complete”, so aparyāpta can mean “not enough”, but it can also mean “unbounded”, too large to be measured. On the numbers, the boast would make sense: in the epic the Kaurava army has eleven divisions against the Pāṇḍavas' seven. Yet several traditional commentators read the line as an anxious admission, pointing out that Bhīṣma loves both sides and has said he will not kill the Pāṇḍava brothers, while Bhīma has sworn to destroy Duryodhana himself (interpretation). Many modern translators prefer the boast. The ambiguity may be the point: a frightened man can boast and worry in the same breath. Note, too, that the Pāṇḍava army's actual commander is Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Duryodhana names Bhīma because Bhīma is the rival he fears most. His order to guard Bhīṣma on every side foreshadows the epic, where Bhīṣma does in the end fall because of a gap in that guard. Bhīṣma's reply is not an argument but a siṃha-nāda, a lion's roar, and a conch blast. In the epic the conch is the signal that battle is about to begin, so his gesture lifts Duryodhana's mood and also sets everything in motion. The classical commentators Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva say little about these narrative verses. Readers who treat the war as an inner struggle, as Gandhi did, sometimes read the scene as a mind that answers its own doubts with louder noise rather than clearer thought (interpretation).