Shloka 46
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
त्वत्कृते निहत: शेते शरतल्पे महायशा: । गाज्नेयो भरतश्रेष्ठ: सर्वेषां न: पितामह:,“तेरे ही कारण हम सब लोगोंके पितामह महायशस्वी गंगानन्दन भरतश्रेष्ठ भीष्मजी आज शरशय्यापर पड़े हुए हैं
tvatkṛte nihataḥ śete śaratālpe mahāyaśāḥ | gāṅgneyo bharataśreṣṭhaḥ sarveṣāṃ naḥ pitāmahaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Because of you, our illustrious grandsire Bhīṣma—the son of the Gaṅgā, the foremost of the Bharatas—lies slain upon a bed of arrows. He is the patriarch of us all.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral accountability in leadership: personal ambition and wrongful choices can bring ruin even upon revered elders and the wider community. Sañjaya’s reproach frames Bhīṣma’s suffering as a consequence of the addressee’s actions, highlighting the ethical weight of causing harm to those who uphold the lineage.
Sañjaya reports and laments that Bhīṣma, the Kuru grandsire and son of Gaṅgā, has fallen in battle and lies on the famous bed of arrows. He attributes this calamity to the addressee’s role in the war, intensifying the sense of guilt and the tragic cost of the conflict.