Shloka 3
भीष्मपातने कर्णविलापः | Karṇa’s Lament upon Seeing Bhīṣma Fallen
जयाशा तव पुत्राणां सम्भग्ना शर्म वर्म च । अपाराणामिव द्वीपमगाधे गाधमिच्छताम्,समस्त क्षत्रियोंका अन्त करनेमें समर्थ गुरु एवं पितामह महाधनुर्धर भीष्मको सव्यसाची अर्जुनने अपने दिव्यास्त्रोंके द्वारा मार गिराया था। उन्हें उस अवस्थामें देखकर आपके पुत्रोंकी विजयकी आशा भंग हो गयी। उन्हें अपने कल्याणकी भी आशा नहीं रही। उनके रक्षाकवच भी छिजन्न-भिन्न हो गये। कहीं पार न पानेवाले तथा अथाह समुद्रमें थाह चाहनेवाले कौरवोंके लिये भीष्मजी द्वीपके समान आश्रय थे, जो पार्थद्वारा धधाशायी कर दिये गये थे इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि द्रोणाभिषेकपर्वणि कर्णवाक्ये तृतीयो5ध्याय:
sañjaya uvāca | jayāśā tava putrāṇāṃ sambhagnā śarma varma ca | apārāṇām iva dvīpam agādhe gādham icchatām ||
Sañjaya said: The hope of victory of your sons has been shattered—along with their sense of safety and their protective armor. For those who cannot find a crossing and who seek a foothold in an unfathomable depth, Bhīṣma had been like an island of refuge; but he has been laid low by Pārtha (Arjuna).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how reliance on a single pillar of strength—especially an elder embodying legitimacy and protection—can mask deeper ethical and strategic fragility. When that support falls, not only military prospects but also inner security (śarma) collapses, revealing the moral and psychological consequences of pursuing an unrighteous course.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after Bhīṣma has been brought down by Arjuna, the Kauravas’ hope of victory is broken. Bhīṣma had functioned like an ‘island’ for those lost in an unfathomable sea—an image for the Kauravas’ dependence on him—so his fall causes their confidence and sense of protection to disintegrate.