Shloka 60
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
दुर्योधन तु शोचामि प्रेत्य लोके5पि दुर्मतिम् । यत्कृते पृथिवी सर्वा विनष्टा सहयद्विपा,दुर्बुद्धि दुर्योधन यद्यपि परलोकमें चला गया है, तो भी मुझे तो उसीके लिये अधिक शोक हो रहा है; क्योंकि उसीके कारण हाथी, घोड़े आदि वाहनोंसहित सारी पृथ्वीका नाश हुआ है
duryodhanaṃ tu śocāmi pretya loke 'pi durmatim | yatkṛte pṛthivī sarvā vinaṣṭā sahayadvipā ||
Bhishma said: “I grieve for Duryodhana—though he has gone to the world beyond—because of his perverse mind. For his sake the whole earth was ruined, along with its elephants (and the forces that depend on them).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after a wrongdoer’s death, the wise may grieve—not out of approval, but because a corrupted intellect can bring vast, irreversible harm to society. The verse stresses moral responsibility: one person’s adharma can devastate an entire realm.
Bhishma, speaking in the Anushasana Parva, reflects on the catastrophic outcome of the Kurukshetra war. He states that he mourns Duryodhana even in the afterlife, because Duryodhana’s misguided choices became the cause of the earth’s ruin, including the destruction of great war resources such as elephant forces.