Shloka 6
ततः सूते हते तस्मिन् क्षिपतस्तस्य मे शरान् | प्रमत्तमनसो राम: प्राहिणोन्मृत्युसम्मितम्,उस सारथिके मारे जानेपर मैं असावधान मनसे परशुरामजीके बाणोंको काट रहा था! इतनेहीमें परशुरामजीने मुझपर मृत्युके समान भयंकर बाण छोड़ा
tataḥ sūte hate tasmin kṣipatastasya me śarān | pramattamanaso rāmaḥ prāhiṇon mṛtyusammitam ||
Bhīṣma said: “Then, when that charioteer had been slain, as he kept hurling arrows at me, I—my mind momentarily unguarded—was cutting down Paraśurāma’s shafts. Just then Rāma (Paraśurāma) loosed at me an arrow as dreadful as death itself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a brief lapse in vigilance during righteous duty (especially in battle) can invite grave danger; the verse highlights the ethical weight of attentiveness and self-mastery amid conflict.
In the Bhīṣma–Paraśurāma combat episode, after the charioteer is killed, Paraśurāma continues to shoot at Bhīṣma; Bhīṣma, momentarily inattentive though cutting down the incoming arrows, faces a death-like missile launched by Paraśurāma.