Shloka 9
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
मत्वा तु निहतं रामस्ततो मां भरतर्षभ । मेघवद् विननादोच्चैर्जहषे च पुनः पुन:
matvā tu nihataṃ rāmas tato māṃ bharatarṣabha | meghavad vinanādoccair jahaṣe ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「だがラーマ（パラシュラーマ）が私を討ち取ったと思ったとき、バーラタ族の雄よ、彼は雷雲のように深い声で高らかに咆哮し、幾度も幾度も勝ち誇って笑った。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense rivalry and wounded honor can produce triumphal exultation even amid violence. It implicitly cautions that martial prowess and pride may eclipse discernment, a recurring ethical tension in the epic’s treatment of kshatriya conduct.
In Bhishma’s recollection of his duel with Parashurama, Parashurama momentarily believes Bhishma has been killed. Reacting to that belief, he thunders loudly like a rain-cloud and repeatedly laughs in exhilaration.