Shloka 47
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
जामदग्न्य: पुरा राम: सर्वस्त्रिविदनुत्तम: | अम्बार्थमुद्यत: संख्ये भीष्मेण युधि निर्जित:
jāmadagnyaḥ purā rāmaḥ sarvāstravid anuttamaḥ | ambārtham udyataḥ saṅkhye bhīṣmeṇa yudhi nirjitaḥ ||
قال دِهْرِتَرَاشْتْرَا: «في سالف الزمان جاء راما جامَدَغْنْيَا (باراشوراما)، الذي لا يُجارى بين العارفين بعلم السلاح، إلى ساحة القتال رافعًا سلاحه من أجل أمبا؛ غير أنّه في تلك المعركة هُزم على يد بهيشما. وها أنت الآن تقول إنّ بهيشما—المماثل لإندرا في البأس، والمتقدّم على جميع الرماة—قد قُتل. فأيُّ حزنٍ أعظم من هذا؟»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how worldly assessments of strength and fame can be overturned by the larger forces of time and destiny: even one who once defeated Paraśurāma can fall. It also highlights the human dimension of war—attachment and shock—showing how grief intensifies when an apparently invincible pillar of dharma and prowess is believed to be lost.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to the report that Bhīṣma has been struck down. To express disbelief and sorrow, he recalls an earlier episode: Paraśurāma, the supreme weapons-master, fought for Ambā’s cause but was defeated by Bhīṣma. Therefore, hearing that such a warrior has been slain seems to him the greatest possible calamity.