Shloka 96
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
निन्दामि भृशमात्मानं धिगस्तु क्षत्रजीविकाम् । 'युधिष्ठिरने आधा राज्य अथवा पाँच गाँव माँगे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
nindāmi bhṛśam ātmānaṃ dhig astu kṣatrajīvikām |
yudhiṣṭhireṇa ardhaṃ rājyaṃ athavā pañca grāmān yācitaṃ, parantu durbuddhinā duryodhanena sā yācanā na pūritā |
adya kṣatriyavīrān raṇabhūmau śayānān dṛṣṭvā ahaṃ sarvebhyaḥ adhikaṃ svām eva nindāmi |
kṣatriyāṇām asyā jīvikāyāḥ dhig astv iti ||
三阇耶说道：“我深深谴责自己；武士刹帝利的生计，真该蒙羞！当初由提施提罗只求半壁王国——甚至只要五个村庄——而愚昧的难敌竟不肯应允。今日见诸刹帝利勇士横卧战场，我比任何人都更责备自己。以战争为食的此等生业，真该蒙羞！”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a small refusal driven by pride and bad counsel can unleash vast, irreversible suffering; the verse frames war as a morally corrosive ‘livelihood’ and highlights remorse at witnessing its human cost.
Sanjaya, reporting the war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reflects on how Yudhiṣṭhira’s modest peace terms (half the kingdom or five villages) were rejected by Duryodhana, and he laments upon seeing warriors slain on the battlefield.