Shloka 6
भीष्म–रामयुद्धवर्णनम्
Bhīṣma’s Account of the Strategic Engagement with Rāma Jāmadagnya
ततो निशि च राजेन्द्र प्रसुप्त: शरविक्षत: । दक्षिणेनेह पाश्वेन प्रभातसमये तदा
tato niśi ca rājendra prasuptaḥ śaravikṣataḥ | dakṣiṇeneha pārśvena prabhātasamaye tadā ||
Then, O king, in the night—wounded and torn by arrows—I fell asleep here, lying on my right side, as dawn approached. And now, O best of the Kurus, I shall tell you what those foremost Brahmins—who had supported and lifted me when I fell from the chariot and had comforted me saying, “Do not fear”—declared to me in a dream, standing all around me. Listen.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the violence and pain of war, dharma is sustained through truthful counsel and fearless composure; the verse frames Bhishma’s suffering as a setting for receiving and transmitting guidance, reinforced by the reassuring words “Do not fear.”
Bhishma, grievously wounded by arrows, lies down and falls asleep near dawn on his right side. He then prepares to recount a dream-vision in which the same eminent Brahmins who earlier supported and comforted him appear around him and speak to him.