Shloka 8
भीष्म–रामसंयुगनिवृत्तिः
Bhishma and Rama: Restraint and Withdrawal in the Engagement
छन््द्यमाना वरेणाथ सा वव्रे मत्पराजयम् । हनिष्यसीति तां देव: प्रत्युवाच मनस्विनीम्,फिर इच्छानुसार वर माँगनेका आदेश देनेपर उसने मेरी पराजयका वर माँगा। तब महादेवजीने उस मनस्विनीसे कहा--“तू अवश्य भीष्मका वध करेगी”
chandyamānā vareṇātha sā vavre mat-parājayam | haniṣyasīti tāṃ devaḥ pratyuvāca manasvinīm ||
Bhīṣma said: When she was invited to choose a boon, she asked for my defeat. Then the Lord (Mahādeva), replying to that resolute woman, declared: “You will indeed bring about Bhīṣma’s death.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A boon granted by a deity can crystallize moral causality into destiny: steadfast resolve (manas) and a chosen aim—here, the downfall of Bhishma—become sanctioned as an inevitable outcome, showing how personal vows and divine confirmation shape the ethical landscape of the war.
A woman, when offered a boon by Mahādeva, asks specifically for Bhishma’s defeat. Śiva replies that she will indeed be the cause of Bhishma’s death, foreshadowing the later events in which Bhishma’s fall becomes possible.