Shloka 58

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

रणमूर्थ्नि हतो भीष्म: पश्यतां व: किरीटिना

Transliteration

raṇamūrdhni hato bhīṣmaḥ paśyatāṃ vaḥ kirīṭinā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „An der vordersten Front des Schlachtfeldes wurde Bhīṣma vom diademgeschmückten Krieger (Arjuna) niedergestreckt, vor euren eigenen Augen.“

Word by Word

• रणमूर्ध्नि: on the battlefield (lit. on the battle-head/front)
• रणमूर्ध्नि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रणमूर्धन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• हतः: slain
• हतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पश्यताम्: while (you) are watching / as (you) look on
• पश्यताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Imperative, Parasmaipada

• वः: of you / your
• वः: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Plural

• किरीटिना: by the diademed one (Arjuna)
• किरीटिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: किरीटिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhīṣma
• Arjuna (Kirīṭin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tragic impartiality of war: status, age, and virtue do not guarantee safety. It also points to the ethical tension in the Mahābhārata—dharma can demand painful action when loyalties and duties collide.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports that Bhīṣma fell on the battlefield, brought down by Arjuna (the 'diademed' warrior), and that this occurred in full view of those being addressed.