Shloka 16
विस्मिताश्र प्रद्ष्टाश्न क्षत्रधर्म निशम्य ते । स्वधर्म निन्दमानास्ते प्रणिपत्य महात्मने,पुरुषसिंह! वे क्षत्रियरधर्मका विचार करके अत्यन्त विस्मित और प्रसन्न हुए। फिर अपने कठोरतापूर्ण धर्मकी निन््दा करते हुए उन्होंने महात्मा भीष्मको प्रणाम किया और उन अमित पराक्रमी भीष्मके लिये झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा तकिये और शय्याकी रचना की
vismitāś ca prahṛṣṭāś ca kṣatradharmaṁ niśamya te | svadharma-nindamānās te praṇipatya mahātmane puruṣasiṁha ||
Sañjaya said: Hearing of the warrior’s code, they were struck with wonder and filled with joy. Yet, censuring their own harsh duty, they bowed down to the great-souled Bhīṣma, the lion among men—honouring him even as the demands of kṣatriya-dharma compelled them onward in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension within dharma: warriors may admire the clarity and grandeur of kṣatriya-dharma, yet still feel moral unease about its harshness. Even amid violence, reverence for virtue and greatness (here, Bhīṣma) remains a binding ethical impulse.
Sañjaya reports that, after hearing about the warrior’s duty, the listeners/warriors react with amazement and joy, but also criticize their own severe obligations. They then bow to Bhīṣma, acknowledging him as a great-souled hero and ‘lion among men’ in the unfolding war context.