Shloka 120
क्षत्रं चान्ये5भ्यनिन्दन्त भीष्म चान्ये3भ्यपूजयन् । ऋषय: पितरश्रैव प्रशशंसुर्महाव्रतम्,कुछ लोग क्षात्रधर्मकी निन््दा कर रहे थे और कुछ भीष्मजीकी प्रशंसा कर रहे थे। ऋषियों और पितरोंने महान् व्रतधारी भीष्मकी बड़ी प्रशंसा की
kṣatraṃ cānye ’bhyanindanta bhīṣmaṃ cānye ’bhyapūjayan | ṛṣayaḥ pitarāś caiva praśaśaṃsur mahāvratam ||
Sañjaya said: Some censured the warrior’s code, while others honored Bhīṣma. The seers and the ancestral Fathers alike extolled Bhīṣma, the great observer of vows—praising the steadfastness of his life-long discipline even amid the moral turmoil of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma is contested in times of conflict: public opinion may condemn or celebrate, but the testimony of sages and ancestors upholds the ethical weight of steadfast vows and disciplined conduct, embodied here by Bhīṣma.
Sañjaya reports mixed reactions around the events of the war: some denounce the kṣatriya path and its violence, while others revere Bhīṣma; meanwhile Ṛṣis and Pitṛs specifically praise Bhīṣma as a great vow-keeper.