Shloka 11
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
स वीतहव्यदायादैरागत्य पुरुषर्षभ । गड्भायमुनयोर्मध्ये संग्रामे विनिपातित:,पुरुषप्रवर! वीतहव्यके पुत्रोंने हर्यश्वके राज्यपर चढ़ाई की उन्हें गंगा-यमुनाके बीच युद्धमें मार गिराया
sa vītahavyadāyādair āgatya puruṣarṣabha | gaṅgā-yamunayor madhye saṅgrāme vinipātitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “O bull among men, he was confronted by the heirs of Vītahavya and, coming to battle, was struck down in the war fought between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the peril of dynastic vengeance and power-seeking: when political ambition escalates into war, even eminent men can be brought down, so a ruler should temper conquest with restraint and dharmic judgment.
Bhīṣma recounts that a certain figure was met by the descendants of King Vītahavya and was killed in a battle fought in the region between the rivers Gaṅgā and Yamunā.