Shloka 52
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
परमास्त्रविदं वीर॑ जघान भरतर्षभम् | इससे जान पड़ता है कि महापराक्रमी युद्धदुर्मद परशुरामजीकी अपेक्षा भी तेज, पराक्रम और बलनमें ट्रपदकुमार शिखण्डी निश्चय ही बहुत बढ़ा-चढ़ा है, जिसने सम्पूर्ण शास्त्रोंके ज्ञानमें निपुण, परमास्त्रवेत्ता और शूरवीर विद्वान् भरतकुलभूषण भीष्मजीका वध कर डाला है ।। के वीरास्तममित्रघ्नमन्वयु: शस्त्रसंसदि,उस समय युद्धमें शत्रुहन्ता भीष्मजीके साथ कौन-कौनसे वीर थे? संजय! पाण्डवोंके साथ भीष्मका किस प्रकार युद्ध हुआ? यह मुझे बताओ। उन वीर सेनापतिके मारे जानेपर मेरे पुत्रकी सेना विधवा स्त्रीके समान असहाय हो गयी है
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | paramāstravidaṃ vīraṃ jaghāna bharatarṣabham |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “That heroic master of the highest weapons has struck down the bull among the Bharatas. Tell me, Sañjaya—who were the warriors accompanying Bhīṣma, the slayer of foes, in that assembly of arms? And how did Bhīṣma fight against the Pāṇḍavas? Explain this to me. Now that that commander of heroes has been felled, my son’s army has become helpless, like a widowed woman.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of a single dharmic, central leader can collapse morale and cohesion in war. It also shows Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s attachment and anxiety: he seeks tactical details, yet his lament reveals the ethical cost of ambition—power without righteousness leaves one inwardly helpless when fortune turns.
After hearing that Bhīṣma has been brought down, Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to describe who stood with Bhīṣma and how Bhīṣma fought the Pāṇḍavas. He mourns that with Bhīṣma’s fall, Duryodhana’s army has become powerless, likened to a widowed woman bereft of protection.