अथवा पितरं मूढं यो मे5कार्षीत् स्वयंवरम् । मयायं स्वकृतो दोषो याहं भीष्मरथात् तदा
athavā pitaraṁ mūḍhaṁ yo me ’kārṣīt svayaṁvaram | mayāyaṁ svakṛto doṣo yāhaṁ bhīṣmarathāt tadā
ಅಥವಾ ನನ್ನಿಗಾಗಿ ಸ್ವಯಂವರವನ್ನು ಏರ್ಪಡಿಸಿದ ನನ್ನ ಮೋಹಗ್ರಸ್ತ ತಂದೆಯನ್ನು ನಾನು ತಡೆಯಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಈ ದೋಷ ನನ್ನದೇ—ನಾನು, ಭೀಷ್ಮನು, ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ರಥದಿಂದಲೇ ಹಾಗೆ ನಡೆದು ಈ ಅನ್ಯಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣನಾದೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Bhīṣma emphasizes moral accountability: even when elders or circumstances initiate an action, one must recognize one’s own agency and accept responsibility for the consequences of one’s choices.
Bhīṣma reflects on a past episode connected with a svayaṃvara arranged for him by his father; he judges that he should have checked his father’s misguided decision and admits that the resulting fault is ultimately his own.