Shloka 120
क्षत्रं चान्ये5भ्यनिन्दन्त भीष्म चान्ये3भ्यपूजयन् । ऋषय: पितरश्रैव प्रशशंसुर्महाव्रतम्,कुछ लोग क्षात्रधर्मकी निन््दा कर रहे थे और कुछ भीष्मजीकी प्रशंसा कर रहे थे। ऋषियों और पितरोंने महान् व्रतधारी भीष्मकी बड़ी प्रशंसा की
kṣatraṃ cānye ’bhyanindanta bhīṣmaṃ cānye ’bhyapūjayan | ṛṣayaḥ pitarāś caiva praśaśaṃsur mahāvratam ||
Sañjaya sprach: Manche tadelten das Kriegergesetz, andere ehrten Bhīṣma. Die ṛṣis und die Ahnenväter gleichermaßen priesen Bhīṣma, den großen Gelübdehalter—und rühmten die Standhaftigkeit seiner lebenslangen Disziplin selbst inmitten des moralischen Aufruhrs des Krieges.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma is contested in times of conflict: public opinion may condemn or celebrate, but the testimony of sages and ancestors upholds the ethical weight of steadfast vows and disciplined conduct, embodied here by Bhīṣma.
Sañjaya reports mixed reactions around the events of the war: some denounce the kṣatriya path and its violence, while others revere Bhīṣma; meanwhile Ṛṣis and Pitṛs specifically praise Bhīṣma as a great vow-keeper.