Shloka 28
दुर्योधनस्य तच्छुत्वा रात्रौ विलपितं बहु | मन्यमान: स तं राजन प्रत्यादेशमिवात्मन:,राजन! रातमें दुर्योधनके अनेक प्रकारके विलापको सुनकर भीष्मने यह समझ लिया कि अब दुर्योधन मुझे युद्धसे हटाना चाहता है
duryodhanasya tac chrutvā rātrau vilapitaṁ bahu | manyamānaḥ sa taṁ rājan pratyādeśam ivātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Hearing Duryodhana’s many lamentations in the night, Bhīṣma understood, O King, that this was as though a rejection directed at himself—Duryodhana was, in effect, seeking to have him withdraw from the battle. The moment reveals how grief and fear can turn into blame, and how a leader’s despair may pressure elders and teachers, testing loyalty, duty, and the ethics of command in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Despair in crisis can turn into implicit accusation and pressure upon elders; dharma in war requires steadiness and clarity of duty, not shifting blame onto those who serve.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, after hearing Duryodhana’s extensive nighttime lament, interprets it as an indirect attempt to have him removed or withdrawn from the fighting.