Shloka 13
Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse
सा तस्य द्विजमुख्यस्य निपपात भुजान्तरे | विद्वलश्चाभवद् राजन् वेपथुश्नैनमाविशत्
sā tasya dvijamukhyasya nipapāta bhujāntare | vidvalaś cābhavad rājan vepathuś cainam āviśat ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Vũ khí ấy đánh trúng bậc tối thượng trong hàng ‘nhị sinh’ ngay giữa hai cánh tay. Tâu Đại vương, ông ta choáng váng, và một cơn run rẩy tràn khắp thân thể.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most eminent and learned person (dvijamukhya) can be physically overwhelmed in the turmoil of conflict; the passage underscores the stark reality of violence and the fragility of the body, contrasting worldly power with human vulnerability.
Bhīṣma narrates that a weapon strikes a leading brāhmaṇa between his arms, causing him to become dazed and to tremble—an immediate bodily reaction to a sudden, forceful blow.