Shloka 9
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
मत्वा तु निहतं रामस्ततो मां भरतर्षभ । मेघवद् विननादोच्चैर्जहषे च पुनः पुन:
matvā tu nihataṃ rāmas tato māṃ bharatarṣabha | meghavad vinanādoccair jahaṣe ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ngunit nang akalain ni Rama (Parashurama) na ako’y napatay na, O bantog sa angkan ng Bharata, siya’y umungal nang malakas sa tinig na malalim na gaya ng kulog sa ulap, at paulit-ulit na tumawa sa pagdiriwang.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense rivalry and wounded honor can produce triumphal exultation even amid violence. It implicitly cautions that martial prowess and pride may eclipse discernment, a recurring ethical tension in the epic’s treatment of kshatriya conduct.
In Bhishma’s recollection of his duel with Parashurama, Parashurama momentarily believes Bhishma has been killed. Reacting to that belief, he thunders loudly like a rain-cloud and repeatedly laughs in exhilaration.