Shloka 303
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
शिखण्डिनं पुरस्कृत्य घातितस्ते पितामह: । “जो प्रतिदिन शूरवीरोंका भारी संहार मचा रहे थे, उन पितामह भीष्मका तुमने शिखण्डीको आगे रखकर वध कराया
śikhaṇḍinaṃ puraskṛtya ghātitas te pitāmahaḥ |
Sanjaya berkata: “Dengan menempatkan Śikhaṇḍin di barisan depan, engkau menyebabkan kakek buyutmu terbunuh. Bhīṣma itu—yang dari hari ke hari menimbulkan pembantaian besar atas para kesatria—kau jatuhkan dengan siasat ini.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between righteous conduct and wartime necessity: even a revered elder who is devastating the battlefield may be stopped through indirect means, prompting reflection on whether ends (ending slaughter) can justify ethically fraught methods.
Sañjaya reminds that Bhīṣma, the grandsire, was brought down by placing Śikhaṇḍin at the front—exploiting Bhīṣma’s refusal to fight Śikhaṇḍin—so that he could be struck and ultimately felled.