Shloka 14
Ulūpī’s Disclosure and the Saṃjīvana-Maṇi: Arjuna’s Restoration (उलूपी-प्रकटनं संजीवनमणि-स्थापनं च)
एष शान्तनवो भीष्मो निहत: सव्यसाचिना । अयुध्यमान: संग्रामे संसक्तो5न्येन भाविनि । तदनेनानुषड्गेण वयमद्य धनंजयम्
arjuna uvāca |
eṣa śāntanavo bhīṣmo nihataḥ savyasācinā |
ayudhyamānaḥ saṅgrāme saṃsaktaḥ anyena bhāvini |
tad anenānuṣaḍgeṇa vayam adya dhanañjayam |
Arjuna said: “This Bhīṣma, son of Śāntanu, has been slain by the left-handed archer. Though he was not fighting, he was caught up in the battle because of another’s destined course. Therefore, by this attendant consequence, today we too are made to bear (the burden of) Dhanañjaya’s deed.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral complexity in war: even when an act is framed as necessary or shaped by destiny, its collateral consequences create ethical burden and shared responsibility. It points to the tension between fate (bhāvini) and accountability (anuṣaḍga—attendant consequence).
Arjuna speaks about Bhīṣma’s death, identifying him as Śāntanu’s son and noting that he was slain by the famed archer (Arjuna himself, ‘Savyasācin’). Arjuna reflects that Bhīṣma, though not actively fighting, became entangled in the battle due to another’s destined course, and that this has produced an unavoidable moral aftermath for them.