Shloka 7
भीष्म–रामयुद्धवर्णनम्
Bhīṣma’s Account of the Strategic Engagement with Rāma Jāmadagnya
ततोऊहं विप्रमुख्यैस्तैर्यैरस्मि पतितो रथात् । उत्थापितो धृतश्चैव मा भैरिति च सान्त्वित:
tato ’haṃ vipramukhyais tair yair asmi patito rathāt | utthāpito dhṛtaś caiva mā bhair iti ca sāntvitaḥ | rājendra! etāṃ prārthanāṃ kṛtvā bāṇaiḥ kṣata-vikṣato ’haṃ rātry-ante prabhāta-samaye dāhiṇī-karavaṭena suptaḥ | mahārāja! kuruśreṣṭha! tataḥ paścāt ye brāhmaṇa-śiromaṇayas rathād patane māṃ dhṛtvā samutthāpitavantaḥ “mā bhaiḥ” iti ca sāntvayām āsuḥ, te eva svapne darśanaṃ dattvā mama caturdiśaṃ sthitvā yāṃ vācam ūcuḥ, tāṃ te kathayiṣyāmi—śṛṇu ||
Bhīṣma said: “Then those foremost Brahmins—by whom I had been caught when I fell from the chariot, lifted up, supported, and comforted with the words ‘Do not fear’—appeared again. O king! After making that supplication, wounded and torn by arrows, I lay down at the end of the night, at dawn, on my right side. O great king, best of the Kurus! Thereafter those very Brahmin sages granted me a vision in a dream; standing all around me, they spoke certain words. I shall tell you what they said—listen.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the violence and injury of war, fear is to be met with steadiness and moral reassurance; the verse highlights the protective, guiding role of righteous Brahmins and the importance of receiving counsel with a composed mind.
Bhishma recounts that after being wounded by arrows and falling from a chariot, he was helped and consoled by eminent Brahmins. Later, at dawn, he lay down on his right side and then saw those same Brahmins appear in a dream, standing around him and speaking words he is about to report.