Shloka 39
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
सर्वलोकेश्वरस्येव परमेष्ठिप्रजापते: । कथं प्रहर्तुमपि ते शेकु: संजय पाण्डवा:,संजय! भीष्मजी सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके स्वामी परमेष्ठी प्रजापति ब्रह्माजीके समान अजेय थे; फिर पाण्डव उनके ऊपर कैसे प्रहार कर सके?
sarvalokeśvarasyeva parameṣṭhi-prajāpateḥ | kathaṁ prahartum api te śekuḥ sañjaya pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, Bhīṣma was as invincible as the Creator Brahmā—Parameṣṭhin, the Lord of progeny, the sovereign of all worlds. How, then, could the Pāṇḍavas even bring themselves to strike him?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between reverence for an elder and the demands of kṣatriya duty in a righteous war: even an exalted, seemingly invincible figure may have to be opposed when aligned with adharma, yet the act of striking such a person remains morally weighty.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the battle, expresses astonishment and disbelief that the Pāṇḍavas could attack Bhīṣma, whom he praises as nearly Brahmā-like in power and unassailability, and he asks Sañjaya to explain how such an attack was possible.