Shloka 29
अम्बोपाख्याने तापसानां विचारः तथा होत्रवाहनस्य उपदेशः
Ambā among ascetics; Hotravāhana directs her to Paraśurāma
अथवा पितरं मूढं यो मे5कार्षीत् स्वयंवरम् । मयायं स्वकृतो दोषो याहं भीष्मरथात् तदा
athavā pitaraṁ mūḍhaṁ yo me ’kārṣīt svayaṁvaram | mayāyaṁ svakṛto doṣo yāhaṁ bhīṣmarathāt tadā
Or else I should have restrained my deluded father, who arranged this svayaṃvara for me. This fault is of my own making—that I, Bhīṣma, at that time acted from my chariot in a way that brought about this wrongdoing.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes moral accountability: even when elders or circumstances initiate an action, one must recognize one’s own agency and accept responsibility for the consequences of one’s choices.
Bhīṣma reflects on a past episode connected with a svayaṃvara arranged for him by his father; he judges that he should have checked his father’s misguided decision and admits that the resulting fault is ultimately his own.