Shloka 6
भीष्मपातने कर्णविलापः | Karṇa’s Lament upon Seeing Bhīṣma Fallen
मोहन सर्वसैन्यस्य युधि भीष्मस्य पातनम् । ककुदं सर्वसैन्यानां लक्ष्म सर्वधनुष्मताम्
mohana sarvasainyasya yudhi bhīṣmasya pātanam | kakudaṃ sarvasainyānāṃ lakṣma sarvadhanuṣmatām
युद्ध में भीष्म का गिराया जाना समस्त सेना को मोह में डालने वाला था; वे समस्त सेनाओं के ककुद (शिखर) और समस्त धनुर्धरों की लक्ष्मी (शोभा-चिह्न) थे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of a single dharmic, exemplary leader can shatter collective morale and identity: strength in war is not only numbers and weapons, but also the ethical-symbolic authority embodied by figures like Bhīṣma.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield impact of Bhīṣma’s fall: he had been the army’s foremost support and the defining glory of the archers; his collapse is portrayed as the loss of the host’s ‘crest’ and its distinguishing mark.