Shloka 17
भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः
Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed
तस्मिन् हते हतं मन्ये पाण्डवानां महद् बलम् | तथेति च वचस्तस्य परिगृह महारथा:
tasmin hate hataṃ manye pāṇḍavānāṃ mahad balam | tatheti ca vacas tasya parigṛhya mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “When he has been slain, I deem the great strength of the Pāṇḍavas to be as good as destroyed.” Hearing his words, the mighty chariot-warriors accepted them, saying, “So be it.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a recurring war-ethic and strategic assumption in the Mahābhārata: the fall of a pivotal warrior is believed to collapse an army’s effective power. It also shows how collective morale can be shaped by confident assertions—right or wrong—revealing the moral danger of reducing complex human struggle to a single kill-and-victory calculation.
Sañjaya reports that someone’s death is taken as decisive: he says that with that person slain, the Pāṇḍavas’ great strength should be considered destroyed. The assembled mahārathas then assent to this assessment, responding “tathā” (“so be it/so indeed”), indicating agreement and renewed confidence in their war outlook.