Shloka 38
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
भीष्म उवाच यद्येवं नाभिगच्छेथा युधि मां पृथिवीपते । शपेयं त्वां महाराज पराभावाय भारत
bhīṣma uvāca | yadyevaṁ nābhigacchethā yudhi māṁ pṛthivīpate | śapeyaṁ tvāṁ mahārāja parābhāvāya bhārata ||
Bhīṣma said: “O lord of the earth, O scion of Bharata, O great king—if, in this battle, you had not come to me in this manner, I would have pronounced a curse upon you, that you should meet with defeat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid war, dharma is upheld through proper conduct: a king must not evade rightful confrontation and responsibility. Bhīṣma frames the ethical weight of approaching him in battle as a necessary act of kṣatriya-duty; failing it would merit moral-spiritual censure (a curse) leading to defeat.
Bhīṣma addresses the Kuru king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and states that if Yudhiṣṭhira had not come to him on the battlefield in the proper manner, Bhīṣma would have cursed him to suffer defeat. The line underscores the seriousness of the encounter and Bhīṣma’s authority and expectations regarding wartime propriety.