Shloka 9

Devanagari script

भीष्मे रथात्‌ प्रपतिते प्रच्युते धरणीतले । हाहेति तुमुलः शब्दो भूतानां समपद्यत,वे पृथ्वीका स्पर्श किये बिना ही उस समय बाणशय्यापर सो रहे थे। भीष्मके रथसे गिरकर धरतीपर पड़ जानेपर समस्त प्राणियोंमें भयंकर हाहाकार मच गया

Transliteration

bhīṣme rathāt prapatite pracyute dharaṇītale | hāheti tumulaḥ śabdo bhūtānāṃ samapadyata ||

Translation

Sañjaya disse: Quando Bhīṣma caiu de seu carro e escorregou para a superfície da terra, ergueu-se entre todos os seres um brado estrondoso: “Ai! Ai!”. Aquele momento assinala o choque moral do campo de batalha: a queda de um ancião venerado, guardião do dharma, torna-se lamento coletivo, revelando que a guerra fere não só os corpos, mas também a consciência do mundo.

Word by Word

भीष्मेwhen/while Bhishma (was in that state)

रथात्from the chariot

प्रपतितेhaving fallen down

प्रच्युतेhaving slipped/fallen away

धरणीतलेon the surface of the earth

हाहाalas! (cry of distress)

इतिthus

तुमुलःtumultuous, loud

शब्दःsound, cry

भूतानाम्of beings/creatures

समपद्यतarose, occurred, came about

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

chariot (ratha)

earth/ground (dharaṇī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a justly framed struggle, the fall of a dharmic elder exposes the tragic cost of war: society’s moral center trembles, and collective grief arises when righteousness is seen to be wounded.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma has fallen from his chariot onto the ground; witnessing this, all around raise a loud cry of lamentation—an immediate, battlefield-wide reaction to the collapse of the Kuru grandsire.