Shloka 33
भीष्म हि कुरुशार्दूलमुद्यतेषुं महारणे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ hi kuruśārdūlam udyateṣuṃ mahāraṇe, śubhānane! tumhāre putra kuruśreṣṭha bhīṣma jab hātha meṃ dhanuṣ-bāṇa liye rahate, us samaya sākṣāt indra bhī unheṃ yuddha meṃ māra nahīṃ sakate the | ye to apnī icchā se hī śarīra tyāgakar svargaloka meṃ gaye haiṃ |
વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—“શુભાનને! મહાયુદ્ધમાં કુરુશ્રેષ્ઠ ભીષ્મ જ્યારે ધનુષ્ય-બાણ ઉંચા કરીને ઊભા રહેતા, ત્યારે સాక్షાત્ ઇન્દ્ર પણ યુદ્ધમાં તેમને મારી શકતા ન હતા. તેઓ તો પોતાની ઇચ્છાથી જ શરીર ત્યજી સ્વર્ગલોકમાં ગયા છે.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights Bhīṣma’s extraordinary martial power and, more importantly, his self-mastery: his end was not forced by an enemy or even a god, but chosen by his own will. It frames death as an act aligned with personal resolve and dharma rather than mere defeat.
Vaiśampāyana explains to the addressed listener (“O fair-faced one”) that Bhīṣma, while armed and battle-ready, was invincible in ordinary combat—even Indra could not kill him. Bhīṣma ultimately left his body voluntarily and went to heaven.