Shloka 5
यदन्यबन्निहतेनाजी भीष्मेण जयमिच्छता । चेष्टितं कुरुसिंहेन तन्मे कथय सुव्रत
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yad anyad abhinīhatena āji bhīṣmeṇa jayam icchatā | ceṣṭitaṃ kuru-siṃhena tan me kathaya suvrata ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „O Sañjaya, standhaft in vortrefflichen Gelübden, berichte mir vollständig, welche weiteren Taten Bhīṣma—der Löwe unter den Kurus, der den Sieg begehrte—vollbrachte, als er im Kampf niedergestreckt wurde.“
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between the desire for victory and the reality of dharma-bound action in war: even a great elder like Bhīṣma, famed for vows and duty, can be brought down, prompting reflection on what truly constitutes ‘right conduct’ amid conflict.
After Bhīṣma has been struck down on the battlefield, Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions Sañjaya, the eyewitness narrator, asking him to recount what further actions or efforts Bhīṣma undertook at that critical moment.