Shloka 143
Bhīṣma’s Appraisal of Pāṇḍava-Alliance Warriors (Śikhaṇḍin, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and Allied Kings)
प्रत्यक्ष तव राजेन्द्र राजसूये यथाभवत् । उनमेंसे एक-एकमें इतनी शक्ति है कि वे समस्त राजाओंका युद्धमें संहार कर सकते हैं। राजेन्द्र! राजसूय-यज्ञमें जैसा जो कुछ हुआ था, वह सब तुमने अपनी आँखों देखा था
pratyakṣaṁ tava rājendra rājasūye yathābhavat |
Bhīṣma said: “O king, you yourself witnessed directly, at the Rājasūya sacrifice, exactly how those events unfolded.” In context, Bhīṣma reminds the ruler that the truth of power, alliances, and consequences in royal policy is not hearsay but something already seen with one’s own eyes—an ethical warning to judge present choices by remembered precedent.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes pratyakṣa—direct knowledge and witnessed precedent—as the proper basis for royal judgment, urging the king to remember what was seen at the Rājasūya and to act responsibly in light of known consequences.
Bhīṣma addresses the king and points back to the Rājasūya sacrifice, reminding him that the earlier events were personally witnessed, thereby strengthening Bhīṣma’s counsel with the authority of shared, observed history.