Shloka 44
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
प्रोक्ते परायणं प्राज्ञं स्वधर्मनिरतं शुचिम् । वेदवेदाज्भतत्त्वज्ञं कथं शंससि मे हतम्
prokte parāyaṇaṁ prājñaṁ svadharmanirataṁ śucim | vedavedārthatatvajñaṁ kathaṁ śaṁsasi me hatam ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When you have just described him as a wise man, steadfast in the highest course, devoted to his own dharma, and pure—one who knows the true purport of the Vedas—how can you now report to me that he has been slain?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between virtue and vulnerability: even a person described as wise, pure, and devoted to dharma can fall in war. It also underscores how moral excellence does not guarantee worldly safety, especially amid the chaos of battle.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to a report about a warrior’s death. Having just heard that the person was exemplary—wise, devoted to svadharma, and learned in Vedic truth—he expresses disbelief and distress, questioning how such a one could be said to have been slain.