Shloka 70
मनुष्यलोके सकले यस्य तुल्यो न विद्यते | तेन भीष्मेण ते तात कथमासीत् समागम:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
manuṣyaloke sakale yasya tulyo na vidyate |
tena bhīṣmeṇa te tāta katham āsīt samāgamaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Anak ko, paano ka napaharap nang tuwiran kay Bhīṣma—na ang kapantay ay wala sa buong daigdig ng mga tao?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethic of recognizing true excellence: Bhīṣma is portrayed as peerless in the human realm, and the narrative invites reflection on how one should approach, assess, and speak about extraordinary virtue and martial capability with humility and accuracy.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, asks (addressing a younger interlocutor as ‘tāta’) how the encounter with Bhīṣma took place—framing Bhīṣma as unmatched among men and setting up a recounting of the circumstances of that confrontation.