Shloka 40
भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः
Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed
धृष्टय्युम्नं तथा5<यान्तं भीष्मस्य वधकाड्क्षिणम् । हार्दिक्यो वारयामास रथश्रेष्ठं महारथ:,इसी प्रकार भीष्मके वधकी इच्छासे आते हुए रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ धृष्टद्युम्नको महारथी कृतवर्माने रोक दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ tathāyāntaṃ bhīṣmasya vadhakāṅkṣiṇam |
hārdikyo vārayāmāsa rathaśreṣṭhaṃ mahārathaḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「同じく、ビ―シュマを討たんとする意志を抱いて進み来たる、車戦の第一人者ドリシュタデュムナを、大勇士クリタヴァルマン—ハールディキヤと称される—が立ちはだかって制し、押しとどめた。この場面は、戦の道義的重圧の中で、要の長老を守るか除くかを双方が決定的な務めと見なし、勇は自陣の大義のために忠実に介入する姿として現れることを示している。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the wartime ethic of steadfast loyalty and timely intervention: a warrior’s prowess is shown not only in attack but also in preventing a decisive threat to one’s side. It also reflects the moral tension of targeting a revered elder like Bhīṣma, treated as a strategic and dharmic turning point by both armies.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna advances with the aim of killing Bhīṣma. Kṛtavarmā (Hārdikya), a leading Kaurava ally, blocks and restrains him, preventing Dhṛṣṭadyumna from reaching Bhīṣma at that moment.