Shloka 11
भीष्मकृतः पाण्डवपक्ष-महारथ-प्रशंसा
Bhishma’s appraisal of Pandava-aligned chariot-warriors
पितामह यथेष्ट॑ मां वाकृशरैरुपकृन्तसि । अनागसं सदा द्वेषादेवमेव पदे पदे,'पितामह! यद्यपि मैंने तुम्हारा कोई अपराध नहीं किया है, तो भी सदा मुझसे द्वेष रखनेके कारण तुम इसी प्रकार पग-पगपर मुझे अपने वाग्बाणोंद्वारा इच्छानुसार चोट पहुँचाते रहते हो
pitāmaha yatheṣṭaṁ māṁ vāk-śaraiḥ upakṛntasi | anāgasaṁ sadā dveṣād evam eva pade pade ||
Karna berkata: “Wahai Pitāmaha! Sesuka hatimu engkau melukai aku dengan anak panah kata-kata yang tajam. Walaupun aku tidak bersalah, kerana kebencianmu yang berterusan, engkau tetap memukulku begini berulang-ulang pada setiap langkah.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical harm of hostile speech: even without physical violence, words can become ‘arrows’ that injure the blameless, and hatred makes such injury habitual. It implicitly upholds restraint, fairness, and accountability in speech as part of dharma.
Bhīṣma addresses an elder as ‘Pitāmaha’ and complains that he is being repeatedly attacked through harsh, cutting words despite having committed no offense, attributing the repeated verbal assaults to persistent hatred.