Shloka 21
Bhīṣma’s Dream-Counsel and the Prasvāpa Astra (भीष्मस्वप्नदर्शनम् / प्रस्वापास्त्रोपदेशः)
भीष्म उवाच एवमुक्तः स पितृभिः पितृन् रामो<ब्रवीदिदम् । नाहं युधि निवर्तेयमिति मे व्रतमाहितम्,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! पितरोंके ऐसा कहनेपर परशुरामजीने उनसे इस प्रकार कहा--मैं युद्धमें पीठ नहीं दिखाऊँगा। यह मेरा चिरकालसे धारण किया हुआ व्रत है
bhīṣma uvāca evam uktaḥ sa pitṛbhiḥ pitṝn rāmo 'bravīd idam | nāhaṃ yudhi nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Als seine Ahnen so geredet hatten, erwiderte Rāma (Paraśurāma) jenen Vorfahren: „Ich werde in der Schlacht nicht zurückweichen; dies ist das Gelübde (vrata), das ich seit langem trage.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores steadfastness to a solemn vow—especially a warrior’s pledge not to retreat—while also implying an ethical tension: even venerable ancestral counsel may not override a personally undertaken vrata when one’s sense of dharma is bound to it.
Bhishma narrates that after the Pitrs address Rama (Parashurama), Parashurama responds directly to them, declaring that he will not withdraw from battle because he has long maintained a vow of never showing his back in war.