Shloka 114
अवध्ये शन्तनो: पुत्रे हते भीष्मे महौजसि । अभाव: सहसा राजन् कुरुराजस्य तर्कित:
avadhye śantanoḥ putre hate bhīṣme mahaujasi | abhāvaḥ sahasā rājan kururājasya tarkitaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O King, when Bhīṣma—the mighty son of Śantanu, deemed impossible to slay—was nevertheless struck down, a sudden conclusion arose among all: that the ruin of the Kuru king (Duryodhana) had become inevitable.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the seemingly invincible can fall when the moral and strategic balance shifts; Bhīṣma’s fall becomes a sign that adharma-backed power is unstable and that consequences (abhāva, downfall) ripen swiftly once a pivotal protector is removed.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma—long regarded as unslayable—has been brought down in battle. From this shocking event, the warriors infer that Duryodhana’s destruction is now unavoidable, since the Kauravas have lost their foremost pillar of strength.