Shloka 6
भीष्मपातने कर्णविलापः | Karṇa’s Lament upon Seeing Bhīṣma Fallen
मोहन सर्वसैन्यस्य युधि भीष्मस्य पातनम् । ककुदं सर्वसैन्यानां लक्ष्म सर्वधनुष्मताम्
mohana sarvasainyasya yudhi bhīṣmasya pātanam | kakudaṃ sarvasainyānāṃ lakṣma sarvadhanuṣmatām
Sañjaya said: “In battle, the fall of Bhīṣma—who had been the very enchantment and rallying strength of the entire host—was like the collapse of the army’s crest and the loss of the distinguishing glory of all the bowmen. His downfall signals not merely a tactical reversal, but a moral and psychological rupture in the war’s order.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of a single dharmic, exemplary leader can shatter collective morale and identity: strength in war is not only numbers and weapons, but also the ethical-symbolic authority embodied by figures like Bhīṣma.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield impact of Bhīṣma’s fall: he had been the army’s foremost support and the defining glory of the archers; his collapse is portrayed as the loss of the host’s ‘crest’ and its distinguishing mark.