Shloka 25
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
अश्मसारमयं नून॑ हृदयं सुदृढं मम । यच्छुत्वा पुरुषव्याप्रं हतं भीष्म न दीर्यते,अवश्य ही मेरा यह हृदय लोहेके समान सुदृढ़ है, तभी तो पुरुषसिंह भीष्मको मारा गया सुनकर विदीर्ण नहीं होता है!
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
aśmasāramayaṃ nūna hṛdayaṃ sudṛḍhaṃ mama |
yac chrutvā puruṣavyāghraṃ hataṃ bhīṣmaṃ na dīryate ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “Certamente meu coração deve ser de pedra, endurecido como ferro; pois, mesmo ao ouvir que Bhīṣma—tigre entre os homens—foi derrubado, ele não se parte.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and self-deception can harden one’s moral sensibility: even the fall of a revered elder in an unjust war may fail to awaken remorse, showing the ethical danger of prolonged complicity.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra hears that Bhīṣma, the great Kuru elder and chief warrior, has been struck down in battle. He reacts with shocked self-reproach, saying his heart must be stone-hard since it does not break from grief.