Shloka 21
Śikhaṇḍī-janma-nigūḍha-vṛtta (The concealed birth-account of Śikhaṇḍī) | शिखण्डी-जन्म-निगूढ-वृत्त
“सुन्दर अंगोंवाली महारानी! तुम शिखण्डीके विषयमें भय मत करो। मैं दया करके वही कार्य करूँगा, जो वस्तुतः हितकारक होगा, मैं स्वयं पुत्रधर्मसे वंचित हो गया हूँ ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | sundarāṅgāvali mahārāṇi! tvaṁ śikhaṇḍi-viṣaye bhayaṁ mā kṛthāḥ | ahaṁ dayāṁ kṛtvā tad eva karma kariṣyāmi yad vastutaḥ hitakaraṁ bhaviṣyati | ahaṁ svayaṁ putra-dharmena vañcitaḥ | mayā dāśārṇako rājā vañcitaḥ sa mahīpatiḥ | tad ācakṣva mahābhāge vidhāsyē tatra yad dhitam ||
Bhishma said: “O queen of lovely limbs, do not fear on account of Shikhandi. Out of compassion I shall do only that deed which is truly beneficial. I myself have been deprived of the dharma of having sons; and I also deprived the king of Dasharna, that lord of the earth. Therefore, O fortunate lady, tell me what you consider the right and beneficial course in this matter; I will carry it out.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames action as guided by hita (true welfare) and dayā (compassion), not by fear. He also acknowledges moral burden from past choices—being deprived of putra-dharma and having deprived another king—implying that ethical counsel must reckon with consequences and aim at the most beneficial resolution.
In Udyoga Parva, Bhishma addresses a queen who is anxious about the situation involving Shikhandi. Bhishma reassures her, promises to act for genuine welfare, recalls earlier events involving the Dasharna king (identified in the given gloss as Hiraṇyavarman), and asks her to state what she deems beneficial so he can implement it.