Shloka 27
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
न मे शस्त्रैरनिर्भिन्न गात्रे द्वयद्भुलमन्तरम् । धर्मार्थ युध्यमानस्य मामकान्तरमाविश:,मेरे शरीरमें दो अंगुल भी ऐसा स्थान नहीं है, जो धर्मके लिये युद्ध करते समय अस्त्र- शस्त्रोंसे घायल न हुआ हो, तथापि तुम मेरे भीतर कैसे घुस आये?
na me śastrair anirbhinnagātre dvyaṅgulam antaram | dharmārthaṃ yudhyamānasya māmakaṃ antaram āviśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “There is not even a space of two fingers’ breadth in my body that has not been pierced by weapons while I fought for the sake of dharma. And yet—how have you entered into my very inner being?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one fights under the banner of dharma, the outer wounds of war do not fully explain the deeper, inward impact—Bhīṣma distinguishes bodily injury from a more intimate ‘entry’ into the heart or inner self, pointing to the moral and psychological depth of dharma-conflict.
Bhīṣma, recalling his battle for dharma, says his body is pierced everywhere by weapons, yet he addresses someone as having ‘entered’ his inner being—an expression of astonishment at a deeper penetration than physical harm, often implying a profound emotional, moral, or spiritual influence.