Shloka 38
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६२: वासुदेवमहात्म्यप्रशंसा (देव–ब्रह्मसंवादः)
“वीर पितामह! निश्चय ही पाण्डव आपके कृपापात्र हैं, तभी तो मेरी सेनाका वध हो रहा है और आप चुपचाप इसकी दुर्दशाको सहते चले जा रहे हैं ।।
sañjaya uvāca | vīra pitāmaha! niścaya hi pāṇḍavā āpake kṛpāpātrāḥ santi, tasmād eva mama senāyāḥ vadho bhavati, bhavān ca tūṣṇīṃ tūṣṇīṃ tasyā durdaśāṃ sahate calito 'sti || so 'smi vācyas tvayā rājan pūrvam eva samāgame | na yotsye pāṇḍavān saṅkhye nāpi pārṣata-sātyakī ||
Санджая сказал: «О доблестный Питамаха! Верно, Пандавы — предмет твоего сострадания; потому и истребляют моё войско, а ты молча терпишь его погибель. О царь, следовало сказать мне это заранее, ещё до начала сражения: “Я не стану биться с Пандавами в бою — ни с Дхриштадьюмной, ни с Сатьяки.”»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between formal allegiance and inner moral inclination: a commander’s partiality or compassion, if it limits his commitment to a cause, should be declared openly beforehand, because silence in war can become complicity in avoidable destruction.
Sanjaya reports a complaint directed at Bhishma: the speaker interprets Bhishma’s restraint as compassion for the Pandavas, blaming it for the Kaurava losses, and says Bhishma should have announced before the battle that he would not fight the Pandavas, Dhrishtadyumna, or Satyaki.