Shloka 11
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
स्वयं मृत्युं रक्षमाण: पाञ्चाल्यं यः शिखण्डिनम् । न बाणै: पातयामास सोअ3र्जुनेन निपातित:,जिन्होंने अपने लिये मृत्यु बनकर आये हुए पाज्चाल राजकुमार शिखण्डीकी स्वयं ही रक्षा की और उसे बाणोंसे धराशायी नहीं किया, उन्हीं पितामहको अर्जुनने मार गिराया
svayaṃ mṛtyuṃ rakṣamāṇaḥ pāñcālyaṃ yaḥ śikhaṇḍinam | na bāṇaiḥ pātayāmāsa so 'rjunena nipātitaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “He who, as though guarding Death itself, protected the Pāñcāla prince Śikhaṇḍin and did not strike him down with arrows—that very grandsire was brought down by Arjuna.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between personal vows and battlefield duty: Bhīṣma’s refusal to strike Śikhaṇḍin (due to his principles and prior knowledge of Śikhaṇḍin’s identity/history) becomes the very condition that enables his fall, showing how dharma-based restraint can shape outcomes even in war.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the moment Bhīṣma, treating Śikhaṇḍin as untouchable, protects him and does not shoot him; using Śikhaṇḍin as a screen, Arjuna then shoots Bhīṣma and brings him down.