Shloka 13
Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse
सा तस्य द्विजमुख्यस्य निपपात भुजान्तरे | विद्वलश्चाभवद् राजन् वेपथुश्नैनमाविशत्,वह शक्ति उन ब्राह्णशिरोमणिकी दोनों भुजाओंके ठीक बीचमें जाकर लगी। राजन! इससे वे विह्नल हो गये और उनके शरीरमें कँपकँपी आ गयी
sā tasya dvijamukhyasya nipapāta bhujāntare | vidvalaś cābhavad rājan vepathuś cainam āviśat ||
Bhīṣma said: “That weapon struck the foremost of the twice-born squarely between his two arms. O King, he became stunned, and a trembling seized his body.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most eminent and learned person (dvijamukhya) can be physically overwhelmed in the turmoil of conflict; the passage underscores the stark reality of violence and the fragility of the body, contrasting worldly power with human vulnerability.
Bhīṣma narrates that a weapon strikes a leading brāhmaṇa between his arms, causing him to become dazed and to tremble—an immediate bodily reaction to a sudden, forceful blow.