Shloka 496
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
न हतो यो महाबुद्धि: स हतो5द्य शिखण्डिना । शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले जिन वीरवर परशुरामजीने अनेक बार समस्त क्षत्रियोंको युद्धमें परास्त किया था, उनसे भी जो मारे न जा सके, वे ही परम बुद्धिमान् उनसे भीष्म आज शिखण्डीके हाथसे मार दिये गये!
na hato yo mahābuddhiḥ sa hato ’dya śikhaṇḍinā | śatruvīrāṇāṃ saṃhāra-karaṇe vāle jin vīravara paraśurāma-jī ne aneka-bāra samasta kṣatriyān yuddhe parājitāḥ kṛtavān, tair api yo na hantum aśakyata, sa eva paramabuddhimān bhīṣmaḥ adya śikhaṇḍinaḥ hastena hataḥ |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “He who, though supremely wise, could not be slain—he has been slain today by Śikhaṇḍin. That foremost hero, Bhīṣma, the destroyer of enemy champions, whom even Paraśurāma—who repeatedly defeated all the kṣatriyas in battle—could not kill, has now fallen by Śikhaṇḍin’s hand.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the paradox of worldly power: even the mightiest and wisest warrior, seemingly invincible even against Paraśurāma, can fall when circumstances align. It invites reflection on dharma and the ethics of war—how victory and defeat may hinge not only on strength but on vows, moral constraints, and the complex workings of destiny.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to the report that Bhīṣma has been brought down in battle by Śikhaṇḍin. He emphasizes Bhīṣma’s extraordinary stature by recalling that even Paraśurāma, famed for repeatedly defeating the kṣatriyas, could not kill Bhīṣma—yet Bhīṣma has now fallen on this day.