Shloka 9
भीष्म–रामयुद्धवर्णनम्
Bhīṣma’s Account of the Strategic Engagement with Rāma Jāmadagnya
उ्तिष्ठ मा भैर्गाजड़ेय न भयं ते5स्ति किंचन । रक्षामहे त्वां कौरव्य स्वशरीरं हि नो भवान्
uttiṣṭha mā bhair gāṅgeya na bhayaṁ te 'sti kiṁcana | rakṣāmahe tvāṁ kauravya svaśarīraṁ hi no bhavān ||
Bhīṣma said: “Rise, O Gāṅgeya; do not be afraid. There is no fear for you at all. O scion of the Kuru line, we shall protect you—for you are, indeed, as our very own body.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes protective duty and solidarity within one’s community: fear is dispelled through pledged guardianship, and the protected person is regarded as one’s own self—an ethical ideal of responsibility and kinship-based care.
Bhīṣma addresses Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma himself as the son of Gaṅgā, used as an epithet in address) or a Kuru scion in a moment of alarm, urging him to rise and assuring him of safety, declaring that the Kauravas will protect him as they would their own body.