Shloka 22
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
किरीटकौस्तुभधरं मित्राणामभयंकरम् । अवजानम् महात्मानं घोरे तमसि मज्जति
kirīṭa-kaustubha-dharaṁ mitrāṇām abhayamkaram | avajānann mahātmānaṁ ghore tamasi majjati ||
Bhishma berkata: “Sesiapa yang menghina Tuhan Yang Maha Agung—yang menyarung mahkota dan permata Kaustubha, serta mengurniakan keberanian tanpa takut kepada sahabat-sahabat-Nya, yakni para bhakta—akan tenggelam ke dalam kegelapan yang menggerunkan, laksana neraka yang dahsyat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the Supreme Lord is an ethical and spiritual necessity: to belittle the divine protector who grants fearlessness to devotees leads to moral blindness and ruin, described as sinking into dreadful darkness (hell).
Bhīṣma is instructing by warning about the fate of one who disrespects the Lord identified by royal and divine insignia (crown and Kaustubha). The verse frames Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu as the protector of devotees and contrasts devotion with contempt, emphasizing consequences.