Shloka 6
Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ
The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows
तेडभिगम्य महात्मानो भरतानां पितामहम् । अन्वशोचन्त गण्ड्रेयमादित्यं पतितं यथा
teḍabhigamya mahātmāno bharatānāṁ pitāmaham | anvaśocanta gāṅdreyam ādityaṁ patitaṁ yathā ||
Alors ces survivants au grand cœur s’approchèrent de Bhīṣma, l’aïeul des Bhārata. Le voyant gisant tel le soleil arraché au ciel, ils se lamentèrent sans cesse et répandirent leur chagrin—image qui présente l’après-guerre non comme une simple victoire ou défaite, mais comme un effondrement moral appelant la réflexion sur le dharma et le coût de la violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of war: even the victors are compelled to mourn when dharma’s foremost elder lies struck down. The simile of the fallen sun suggests a world dimmed—victory cannot erase the moral and emotional consequences of violence.
After the great war, the surviving leaders go to the battlefield where Bhīṣma lies fallen. They approach him and repeatedly express grief, recognizing him as the venerable grandsire of the Bharata line and as a towering moral presence now brought low.