Shloka 726
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
हते मयि हतं सर्व तस्मादेवं विधीयताम् । “कुन्तीकुमारो! मैं तुम्हें आज्ञा देता हूँ। तुम सुख-पूर्वक मेरे ऊपर प्रहार करो। मैं तुम्हारे लिये यह पुण्यकी बात मानता हूँ कि तुम्हें मेरे इस प्रभावका ज्ञान हो गया कि मेरे मारे जानेपर सारी कौरव-सेना मरी हुई ही हो जायगी; अतः ऐसा ही करो (मुझे मार डालो)'
hate mayi hataṁ sarvaṁ tasmād evaṁ vidhīyatām |
Sañjaya said: “When I am slain, everything is as good as slain; therefore let it be done in this very way.” The utterance frames the act of killing not as personal vengeance but as a grim strategic and moral necessity in war: the fall of a pivotal warrior is presented as the decisive condition for the collapse of the opposing host, urging the listener to act accordingly.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores consequential duty in wartime: when a single pivotal figure’s fall determines the outcome, action is urged not from hatred but from recognition of necessity and the larger course of the conflict.
Sañjaya reports a statement asserting that the speaker’s death will effectively mean the destruction of all, and therefore the advised course of action should be carried out exactly in that way—pressing for a decisive strike to end the opposing force’s resistance.