चत्वारस् तेन मे वाहाः सूतश् चैव विशां पते ॥
प्रतिरुद्धास् तथैवाहं समरे दंशितः स्थितः ॥
नमस्कृत्य च देवेभ्यो ब्राह्मणेभ्यश् च भारत ॥
तम् अहं स्मयन्न् इव रणे प्रत्यभाषं व्यवस्थितम् ॥
आचार्यता मानिता मे निर्मर्यादे ह्य् अपि त्वयि ॥
भूयस् तु शृणु मे ब्रह्मन् संपदं धर्मसंग्रहे ॥
ये ते वेदाः शरीरस्था ब्राह्मण्यं यच् च ते महत् ॥
तपश् च सुमहत् तप्तं न तेभ्यः प्रहराम्य् अहम् ॥
प्रहरे क्षत्रधर्मस्य यं त्वं राम समास्थितः ॥
ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियत्वं हि याति शस्त्रसमुद्यमात् ॥
catvāras tena me vāhāḥ sūtaś caiva viśāṃ pate ||
pratiruddhās tathaivāhaṃ samare daṃśitaḥ sthitaḥ ||
namaskṛtya ca devebhyo brāhmaṇebhyaś ca bhārata ||
tam ahaṃ smayann iva raṇe pratyabhāṣaṃ vyavasthitam ||
ācāryatā mānitā me nirmaryāde hy api tvayi ||
bhūyas tu śṛṇu me brahman saṃpadaṃ dharmasaṃgrahe ||
ye te vedāḥ śarīrasthā brāhmaṇyaṃ yac ca te mahat ||
tapaś ca sumahat taptaṃ na tebhyaḥ praharāmy aham ||
prahare kṣatradharmasya yaṃ tvaṃ rāma samāsthitaḥ ||
brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyatvaṃ hi yāti śastrasamudyamāt ||
By that my four horses and my charioteer were checked, O lord of the people, and I too stood in the battle, clad in armor. Having bowed to the gods and the brahmins, O Bharata, I, as if smiling, answered Rama, who stood firm in battle: 'I have honored in you the dignity of a teacher, even though you have crossed its bounds. But hear further, O brahmin, my understanding of dharma. Those Vedas that dwell in your body, your great brahminhood, and the immense austerity you have performed — against these I do not strike. I strike at the kshatriya duty you have taken on, O Rama; for a brahmin, by raising weapons, passes into the state of a kshatriya.'
8229a8070c6a · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:36:32 AM UTC
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This chapter shows that even a duel righteous in form remains spiritually perilous when weapons are raised against a teacher and a brahmin. Bhishma strives to keep the dharma: unwilling to strike an opponent on foot from his chariot, he descends before Rama, bows to him, and asks his blessing. Yet the situation itself is already tragic: Rama, a brahmin by nature, takes on the role of a warrior, and Bhishma is forced to distinguish in him the venerable brahminhood from the martial act against which he fights. When Rama is finally covered in blood, compassion and shame for the warrior's deed awaken in Bhishma. Thus the verse shows the limit of outward rightness: dharma demands action, but the heart must not rejoice in violence even when the battle seems unavoidable.