Shloka 10
सीमावृक्षे निपतिते कुरूणां समितिंजये । सेनयोरुभयो राजन क्षत्रियानू भयमाविशत्
saṃjaya uvāca | sīmāvṛkṣe nipatite kurūṇāṃ samitiṃjaye | senayor ubhayo rājan kṣatriyānū bhayam āviśat ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, lorsque Bhīṣma —vainqueur au combat et, pour ainsi dire, l’arbre-frontière des Kurus— tomba, la peur entra dans le cœur des kṣatriyas des deux armées. Sa présence se dressait comme une limite protectrice pour chaque camp ; avec sa chute, les guerriers des deux fronts sentirent soudain l’exposition et l’incertitude du cours de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a single pillar of strength can function like a ‘boundary’ that stabilizes an entire system; when that support falls, even trained warriors are shaken. Ethically, it underscores impermanence in worldly power and the need for steadiness in dharma even when external supports collapse.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after Bhīṣma’s fall, fear spread among the kṣatriyas on both sides. Bhīṣma had been a decisive, restraining presence in the war; his removal changes the psychological balance of the battlefield.