Shloka 25
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
अश्मसारमयं नून॑ हृदयं सुदृढं मम । यच्छुत्वा पुरुषव्याप्रं हतं भीष्म न दीर्यते,अवश्य ही मेरा यह हृदय लोहेके समान सुदृढ़ है, तभी तो पुरुषसिंह भीष्मको मारा गया सुनकर विदीर्ण नहीं होता है!
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
aśmasāramayaṃ nūna hṛdayaṃ sudṛḍhaṃ mama |
yac chrutvā puruṣavyāghraṃ hataṃ bhīṣmaṃ na dīryate ||
持国王说道：“我的心想必是石铸的，又硬如铁；因为即便听闻毗湿摩——人中之虎——已被击倒，我的心也不曾裂碎。”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and self-deception can harden one’s moral sensibility: even the fall of a revered elder in an unjust war may fail to awaken remorse, showing the ethical danger of prolonged complicity.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra hears that Bhīṣma, the great Kuru elder and chief warrior, has been struck down in battle. He reacts with shocked self-reproach, saying his heart must be stone-hard since it does not break from grief.