Shloka 28
शरतल्पे शयानं तमादित्यं पतितं यथा । स ददर्श महाबाहुं भयाच्चागतसाध्वस:,शर-शय्यापर सोये हुए महाबाहु भीष्मजी वैसे ही दिखायी दे रहे थे, मानो सूर्यदेव आकाशसे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े हों। युधिष्ठिरने उसी अवस्थामें उनका दर्शन किया। उस समय वे भयसे काँप उठे थे
śaratālpe śayānaṃ tam ādityaṃ patitaṃ yathā | sa dadarśa mahābāhuṃ bhayāccāgatasādhvasaḥ ||
He beheld mighty-armed Bhīṣma lying upon the bed of arrows, like the Sun himself fallen from the sky to the earth. Yudhiṣṭhira saw him in that state and was seized with fear and trembling.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral weight of war’s consequences: even the greatest, radiant like the Sun, can be brought low. Yudhiṣṭhira’s fear signals humility and the recognition that dharma must now be sought from the suffering elder, not celebrated through victory.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches Bhīṣma, who lies on a bed of arrows awaiting his chosen time of death. Seeing Bhīṣma’s grievous condition—likened to the Sun fallen to earth—Yudhiṣṭhira is overcome with dread and trembling.