Shloka 2
Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ
The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows
शयाने वीरशयने भीष्मे शान्तनुनन्दने । गाड़ेये पुरुषव्यात्रे पाण्डवै: पर्युपासिते
janamejaya uvāca | śayāne vīraśayane bhīṣme śāntanunandane | gāṅgeye puruṣavyāghre pāṇḍavaiḥ paryupāsite ||
Janamejaya said: “When Bhīṣma, Śāntanu’s son—Gaṅgā’s offspring, the tiger among men—was lying upon the hero’s bed of arrows, and the Pāṇḍavas were gathered around him in attendance, what conversations took place on that solemn occasion, after the armies of both sides had been destroyed? Please tell me, O great sage.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical setting for Bhīṣma’s instruction: after catastrophic war, dharma is sought not through victory-celebration but through humble inquiry at the feet of a righteous elder. It signals that true guidance on duty, governance, and moral order is to be learned in a mood of repentance, reflection, and service.
Janamejaya asks the sage to recount what was said when Bhīṣma lay on the bed of arrows and the Pāṇḍavas stood by to serve him. The war has ended with the destruction of both armies, and this moment becomes the gateway to Bhīṣma’s extended discourse on dharma in the Śānti Parva.