Shloka 64
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
शेषं किंचित् प्रपश्यामि प्रत्यनीके महीक्षिताम् । संजय! जब मैं अपनी बुद्धिसे विचार करके देखता हूँ तो अपने अथवा शशत्रुपक्षके राजाओंमेंसे किसीका भी जीवन इस युद्धमें शेष रहता नहीं दिखायी देता है | ६३ है ।। दारुण: क्षत्रधर्मोडयमृषिभि: सम्प्रदर्शित:
śeṣaṃ kiñcit prapaśyāmi pratyanīke mahīkṣitām | sañjaya! yadāhaṃ svabuddhyā vicārya paśyāmi tadā svapakṣe parapakṣe vā rājñāṃ kaścid api jīvaḥ asmin yuddhe śeṣaḥ na dṛśyate | dāruṇaḥ kṣatradharmo ’yam ṛṣibhiḥ sampradarśitaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “I see scarcely anything left among the opposing ranks of kings. Sañjaya, when I reflect with my own understanding, I do not perceive that the life of any king—whether on my side or the enemy’s—will remain after this war. Such is this terrible kṣatriya-duty, as the seers have set it forth.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical cost embedded in kṣatriya-dharma: war undertaken as a duty can still be dreadful, bringing near-total destruction to rulers on both sides. Dhṛtarāṣṭra recognizes the inevitability of loss and the harshness of the warrior code as sanctioned by tradition.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing the unfolding battle from Sañjaya, reflects anxiously and concludes that the war will leave virtually no kings alive—neither among his sons’ allies nor among the Pāṇḍavas’ side—underscoring his fear and foreboding about the coming slaughter.