Shloka 9
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
समेत पार्थिव क्षत्रं वाराणस्यां नदीसुतः । कन्यार्थमाह्नयद् वीरो रथेनैकेन संयुगे
sametaṃ pārthiva-kṣatraṃ vārāṇasyāṃ nadī-sutaḥ | kanyārtham āhnayad vīro rathenaikena saṃyuge ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「河の子（ビーシュマ）は、乙女たちのために、ヴァーラーナシーに集った王侯と武人のすべてを戦いに挑み——ただ一人、一台の戦車に立った。かくも強大で、かくも不屈であったその人を、それでも私は戦の中で死なせてしまったのだ。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of war: even when battle is fought under kṣatriya codes, the slaying of a supremely virtuous and formidable elder like Bhīṣma can leave a righteous person burdened with remorse. It frames heroism and duty alongside accountability and inner moral reckoning.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls Bhīṣma’s famed exploit at Vārāṇasī—challenging the gathered kings alone on a single chariot for the sake of the princesses—and contrasts that greatness with the tragic outcome of the Kurukṣetra war, where Bhīṣma was brought down, an event Yudhiṣṭhira feels responsible for.