Shloka 12
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत थ्रूमिपर्वमें उत्तरद्वीपादिसंस्थानवर्णनविषयक बारहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,यः स शक्र इवाक्षोभ्यो वर्षन् बाणान् सहस्रशः । जघान युधि योधानामर्बुदं दशभिर्दिनै: जिन्होंने इन्द्रकी भाँति क्षोभरहित होकर हजारों बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए दस दिनोंमें शत्रुपक्षके दस करोड़ योद्धाओंका संहार कर डाला, वे ही आज आँधीके उखाड़े हुए वृक्षकी भाँति मारे जाकर युद्धभूमिमें सो रहे हैं। भरतवंशी नरेश! यह सब आपकी कुमन्त्रणाका फल है; नहीं तो भीष्मजी इस दुर्दशाके योग्य नहीं थे
yaḥ sa śakra ivākṣobhyo varṣan bāṇān sahasraśaḥ | jaghāna yudhi yodhānām arbudaṃ daśabhir dinaiḥ ||
te ’dya vātoddhṛtavṛkṣa iva hatā yuddhabhūmau śerate | bharatavaṃśī nareśa! etat sarvaṃ tava kumantraṇāphalam; anyathā bhīṣmaḥ etādṛśyā durdaśāyāṃ nārhati sma ||
Sanjaya said: He who, like Indra himself, unshaken and unperturbed, rained down thousands of arrows and in ten days destroyed an arbuda—ten crores—of enemy warriors, that very Bhishma now lies slain on the battlefield, like a tree torn up by a storm. O king of the Bharata line, all this is the fruit of your evil counsel; otherwise Bhishma would never have deserved such a wretched end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral causality and royal responsibility: catastrophic outcomes in war are not merely fate but arise from unethical counsel and choices. Even a great, disciplined warrior like Bhishma can be brought to ruin when a kingdom is guided by kumantraṇā (bad policy).
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Bhishma—who fought like Indra, showering arrows and destroying vast numbers over ten days—now lies fallen on the battlefield. Sanjaya attributes this reversal to Dhritarashtra’s misguided counsel and decisions.