Shloka 28
Bhīṣma’s Appraisal of Pāṇḍava-Alliance Warriors (Śikhaṇḍin, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and Allied Kings)
मनोभि: सह संवेगै: संस्मृत्य च पुरातनम् । सामर्थ्य पाण्डवेयानां यथा प्रत्यक्षदर्शनात्
manobhiḥ saha saṁvegaiḥ saṁsmṛtya ca purātanam | sāmarthya-pāṇḍaveyānāṁ yathā pratyakṣa-darśanāt | vaiśampāyana uvāca |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「ジャナメージャヤよ、ビーシュマの言葉を聞くと、王たちは心を揺さぶられ、突如として情動にとらわれた。そしてパーンダヴァたちの古の武威を、まるで自らの目で見るかのように鮮やかに思い起こした。その記憶は彼らの自信を萎えさせ、不安な思索へと沈ませた。パーンダヴァの力の現実が、内なる眼前に直接の知覚のごとく立ち現れたからである。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how truthful counsel and remembrance of past deeds can correct overconfidence: when the real strength of an opponent is recalled as vividly as direct perception, pride gives way to sober, ethically charged deliberation about the consequences of war.
After Bhīṣma speaks, the assembled kings mentally revisit the Pāṇḍavas’ earlier feats. The recollection strikes them with emotional force, as though they are witnessing those exploits again, and this inner ‘direct vision’ unsettles their previous composure.