Shloka 21
Śikhaṇḍī-janma-nigūḍha-vṛtta (The concealed birth-account of Śikhaṇḍī) | शिखण्डी-जन्म-निगूढ-वृत्त
“सुन्दर अंगोंवाली महारानी! तुम शिखण्डीके विषयमें भय मत करो। मैं दया करके वही कार्य करूँगा, जो वस्तुतः हितकारक होगा, मैं स्वयं पुत्रधर्मसे वंचित हो गया हूँ ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | sundarāṅgāvali mahārāṇi! tvaṁ śikhaṇḍi-viṣaye bhayaṁ mā kṛthāḥ | ahaṁ dayāṁ kṛtvā tad eva karma kariṣyāmi yad vastutaḥ hitakaraṁ bhaviṣyati | ahaṁ svayaṁ putra-dharmena vañcitaḥ | mayā dāśārṇako rājā vañcitaḥ sa mahīpatiḥ | tad ācakṣva mahābhāge vidhāsyē tatra yad dhitam ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “O reyna na may maririkit na anyo, huwag kang mangamba dahil kay Śikhaṇḍī. Dahil sa habag, tanging yaong gawang tunay na kapaki-pakinabang ang aking gagawin. Ako mismo’y napagkaitan ng dharma ng pagkakaroon ng mga anak na lalaki; at napagkaitan ko rin ang hari ng Daśārṇa, ang panginoon ng lupa. Kaya, O mapalad na ginang, sabihin mo kung ano, sa iyong paningin, ang tama at makabubuting hakbang sa bagay na ito; isasagawa ko iyon.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames action as guided by hita (true welfare) and dayā (compassion), not by fear. He also acknowledges moral burden from past choices—being deprived of putra-dharma and having deprived another king—implying that ethical counsel must reckon with consequences and aim at the most beneficial resolution.
In Udyoga Parva, Bhishma addresses a queen who is anxious about the situation involving Shikhandi. Bhishma reassures her, promises to act for genuine welfare, recalls earlier events involving the Dasharna king (identified in the given gloss as Hiraṇyavarman), and asks her to state what she deems beneficial so he can implement it.