Shloka 26
स धर्मराजस्य वचो निशम्य रूक्षाक्षरं विप्रलापानुबद्धम् । प्रत्यादेशं मन्यमानो महात्मा प्रतत्वरे भीष्मवधाय राजन्,राजन! धर्मराजके इस वचनमें प्रत्येक अक्षर रूखेपनसे भरा हुआ था। उसके द्वारा उन्होंने कितनी ही मनके विपरीत बातें कही थीं, तथापि उस वचनको सुनकर महामना शिखण्डीने इसे अपने लिये आदेश माना और तुरंत ही भीष्मका वध करनेके लिये सचेष्ट हो गया
sa dharmarājasya vaco niśamya rūkṣākṣaraṁ vipralāpānubaddham | pratyādeśaṁ manyamāno mahātmā pratatavare bhīṣmavadhāya rājan ||
Sañjaya said: Hearing the words of Dharmarāja—harsh in every syllable and entangled with bitter, contrary remarks—the high-souled Śikhaṇḍin took them as a direct command. Interpreting the rebuke as an instruction, he at once hastened, O King, to set about the slaying of Bhīṣma. The passage highlights how, amid the moral strain of war, even rough speech from a righteous leader can function as an imperative, driving decisive action toward a grim but strategically necessary end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even righteous leadership may employ harsh speech under extreme moral pressure; such words can become a functional command that compels action. The verse underscores the ethical burden of war—decisions may be strategically necessary yet emotionally and morally fraught.
Sañjaya reports that Śikhaṇḍin hears Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) speak in harsh, reproachful terms. Śikhaṇḍin interprets this as an instruction and immediately moves to undertake the effort to bring about Bhīṣma’s death.