Shloka 22
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
किरीटकौस्तुभधरं मित्राणामभयंकरम् । अवजानम् महात्मानं घोरे तमसि मज्जति,“जो किरीट और कौस्तुभमणि धारण करनेवाले तथा मित्रों (भक्तजनों)-को अभय देनेवाले हैं, उन परमात्माकी अवहेलना करनेवाला मनुष्य घोर नरकमें डूबता है
kirīṭa-kaustubha-dharaṁ mitrāṇām abhayamkaram | avajānann mahātmānaṁ ghore tamasi majjati ||
किरीटकौस्तुभधरं मित्राणामभयंकरम् । अवजानन् महात्मानं घोरे तमसि मज्जति ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the Supreme Lord is an ethical and spiritual necessity: to belittle the divine protector who grants fearlessness to devotees leads to moral blindness and ruin, described as sinking into dreadful darkness (hell).
Bhīṣma is instructing by warning about the fate of one who disrespects the Lord identified by royal and divine insignia (crown and Kaustubha). The verse frames Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu as the protector of devotees and contrasts devotion with contempt, emphasizing consequences.