नूनम् अन्तः कुलस्यास्य भविता नचिराद् इव ॥
तथा हि कुरवः सर्वे लोभमोहपरायणाः ॥
कुलेषु जाताः कल्याणि व्यसनाभ्याहता भृशम् ॥
धर्म्यान् मार्गान् न च्यवन्ते यथा नस् त्वं वधूः स्थिता ॥
उपपन्नं च पाञ्चालि तवेदं वृत्तम् ईदृशम् ॥
यत् कृच्छ्रम् अपि संप्राप्ता धर्मम् एवान्ववेक्षसे ॥
एते द्रोणादयश् चैव वृद्धा धर्मविदो जनाः ॥
शून्यैः शरीरैस् तिष्ठन्ति गतासव इवानताः ॥
युधिष्ठिरस् तु प्रश्ने ऽस्मिन् प्रमाणम् इति मे मतिः ॥
अजितां वा जितां वापि स्वयं व्याहर्तुम् अर्हति ॥
nūnam antaḥ kulasyāsya bhavitā nacirād iva ||
tathā hi kuravaḥ sarve lobhamohaparāyaṇāḥ ||
kuleṣu jātāḥ kalyāṇi vyasanābhyāhatā bhṛśam ||
dharmyān mārgān na cyavante yathā nas tvaṃ vadhūḥ sthitā ||
upapannaṃ ca pāñcāli tavedaṃ vṛttam īdṛśam ||
yat kṛcchram api saṃprāptā dharmam evānvavekṣase ||
ete droṇādayaś caiva vṛddhā dharmavido janāḥ ||
śūnyaiḥ śarīrais tiṣṭhanti gatāsava ivānatāḥ ||
yudhiṣṭhiras tu praśne 'smin pramāṇam iti me matiḥ ||
ajitāṃ vā jitāṃ vāpi svayaṃ vyāhartum arhati ||
[Bhishma:] "Surely the end of this lineage will come soon, for all these Kurus are given over to greed and delusion. Born into noble lines and struck by calamity, only those such as you, our daughter-in-law standing firm, do not stray from the path of dharma. And such conduct befits you, Panchali -- that even in misfortune you look only to dharma. These Drona and the other elders, knowers of dharma, stand with hollowed bodies, as though their breath had left them, bowed down. But in this question the measure, in my view, is Yudhishthira: let him himself declare whether you are won or not."
95ee78f4f1d5 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Bhishma foresees the coming ruin of the lineage -- and points to its root: greed and delusion, which have enslaved those born to guard dharma. Here too is the highest praise of Draupadi: among the bowed elders, she alone, the victim, stands firm in dharma -- so suffering righteousness stands higher than powerless wisdom. It is telling how the knowers of dharma are contrasted: "as though their breath had left them," while the one being tormented still breathes with truth. The verse teaches that faithfulness to dharma is measured not in peace but in adversity; and that a society whose foundations are collapsing is saved not by its many wise elders, struck dumb with fear, but by the few who, even under torment, do not turn their gaze from the truth.