Shloka 18
भीष्मपतनविषये धृतराष्ट्रस्य प्रश्नाः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Questions on Bhīṣma’s Fall
अरक्ष्यमाणं हि वृको हन्यात् सिंहं महाबलम् । मा सिंहं जम्बुकेनेव घातयाम: शिखण्डिना
arakṣyamāṇaṃ hi vṛko hanyāt siṃhaṃ mahābalam | mā siṃhaṃ jambuken eva ghātayāmaḥ śikhaṇḍinā |
Sañjaya disse: “Até um lobo poderia matar um leão de grande força se o leão fosse deixado sem guarda. Não permitamos que Bhīṣma—leonino em valor—seja derrubado por Śikhaṇḍin, como um leão abatido por um chacal.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses animal imagery to warn that even the greatest can be defeated if left unprotected, and it frames an ethical concern: a heroic warrior should not be brought down through an ignoble or opportunistic means.
Sañjaya comments on the battlefield situation, likening Bhīṣma to a lion and Śikhaṇḍin to a jackal, urging that Bhīṣma should not be allowed to be killed through Śikhaṇḍin’s involvement—implying a tactical and moral objection to that mode of defeat.