Shloka 4
भीष्म–रामसंयुगनिवृत्तिः
Bhishma and Rama: Restraint and Withdrawal in the Engagement
यत्कृते दुःखवसतिमिमां प्राप्तास्मि शाश्वतीम् । पतिलोकाद् विहीना च नैव स्त्री न पुमानिह
yatkṛte duḥkhavasatim imāṃ prāptāsmi śāśvatīm | patilokād vihīnā ca naiva strī na pumān iha |
“Dahil sa kanya, nalugmok ako sa tila walang-hanggang tahanan ng pagdurusa; at naputol sa daigdig ng isang asawa, sa buhay na ito’y hindi na ako tunay na babae ni tunay na lalaki. Hangga’t hindi ko napapatay sa digmaan si Bhīṣma, anak ni Gaṅgā, hindi ako titigil sa aking mga pag-aayuno. O mga mayaman sa pagninilay, ito ang panata ng aking puso, at hayag ko itong ipinahayag.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unresolved injustice can harden into a binding vow: personal suffering and social exclusion are transmuted into relentless resolve, raising ethical questions about whether vengeance and ascetic power should be directed toward destruction even when framed as a duty.
A wronged figure (contextually associated with Śikhaṇḍin/Amba’s enmity) declares to ascetics that, having lost the possibility of a normal conjugal life and social identity, they will continue severe austerities until Bhīṣma—Gaṅgā’s son—is slain in battle.