Shloka 14
Ulūpī’s Disclosure and the Saṃjīvana-Maṇi: Arjuna’s Restoration (उलूपी-प्रकटनं संजीवनमणि-स्थापनं च)
एष शान्तनवो भीष्मो निहत: सव्यसाचिना । अयुध्यमान: संग्रामे संसक्तो5न्येन भाविनि । तदनेनानुषड्गेण वयमद्य धनंजयम्
arjuna uvāca |
eṣa śāntanavo bhīṣmo nihataḥ savyasācinā |
ayudhyamānaḥ saṅgrāme saṃsaktaḥ anyena bhāvini |
tad anenānuṣaḍgeṇa vayam adya dhanañjayam |
Arjuna dijo: «Este Bhīṣma, hijo de Śāntanu, ha sido muerto por el arquero zurdo. Aunque no combatía, quedó envuelto en la batalla por el curso destinado de otro. Por ello, a causa de esa consecuencia que acompaña al hecho, hoy también nosotros cargamos con el peso del acto de Dhanañjaya».
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral complexity in war: even when an act is framed as necessary or shaped by destiny, its collateral consequences create ethical burden and shared responsibility. It points to the tension between fate (bhāvini) and accountability (anuṣaḍga—attendant consequence).
Arjuna speaks about Bhīṣma’s death, identifying him as Śāntanu’s son and noting that he was slain by the famed archer (Arjuna himself, ‘Savyasācin’). Arjuna reflects that Bhīṣma, though not actively fighting, became entangled in the battle due to another’s destined course, and that this has produced an unavoidable moral aftermath for them.