Shloka 9
भीष्मे रथात् प्रपतिते प्रच्युते धरणीतले । हाहेति तुमुलः शब्दो भूतानां समपद्यत,वे पृथ्वीका स्पर्श किये बिना ही उस समय बाणशय्यापर सो रहे थे। भीष्मके रथसे गिरकर धरतीपर पड़ जानेपर समस्त प्राणियोंमें भयंकर हाहाकार मच गया
bhīṣme rathāt prapatite pracyute dharaṇītale | hāheti tumulaḥ śabdo bhūtānāṃ samapadyata ||
Sañjaya said: When Bhīṣma fell down from his chariot and slipped onto the surface of the earth, a thunderous cry of “Alas! Alas!” arose among all beings. The moment marks the moral shock of the battlefield: the collapse of a revered elder and guardian of dharma becomes a collective lament, revealing how war wounds not only bodies but the conscience of the world.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a justly framed struggle, the fall of a dharmic elder exposes the tragic cost of war: society’s moral center trembles, and collective grief arises when righteousness is seen to be wounded.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma has fallen from his chariot onto the ground; witnessing this, all around raise a loud cry of lamentation—an immediate, battlefield-wide reaction to the collapse of the Kuru grandsire.