Shloka 24
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
प्रणष्ट: कुरुवंशश्न॒ पुनर्येन समुद्धृत: । स गत: कुरुभि: सार्ध महाबुद्धि: पराभवम्,जिन्होंने नष्ट हुए कुरुवंशका पुनः उद्धार किया था, वे ही परम बुद्धिमान् भीष्म इन कौरवोंके साथ परास्त हो गये
praṇaṣṭaḥ kuruvanśaś ca punar yena samuddhṛtaḥ | sa gataḥ kurubhiḥ sārdhaṃ mahābuddhiḥ parābhavam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: He by whom the Kuru lineage, once ruined, had been raised up again—he, the great-minded and supremely wise Bhīṣma—has now met defeat together with the Kurus. The verse underscores the tragic irony of war: even the most discerning elder, who once preserved the dynasty, is brought low when bound to a failing cause and collective adharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral irony that worldly wisdom and past merit do not guarantee success when one is tied to a collective course of adharma; even a preserver of the dynasty can share in its downfall.
In the aftermath of the war (as lamentation begins in Strīparva), the narrator recalls that Bhīṣma—who once restored the Kuru line—has nevertheless been defeated along with the Kauravas, emphasizing the scale of loss.