एवं कुरुष्व कौरव्य प्रभाते रथम् आस्थितः ॥
प्रसुप्तं वा मृतं वापि तुल्यं मन्यामहे वयम् ॥
न च रामेण मर्तव्यं कदा चिद् अपि पार्थिव ॥
ततः समुत्पन्नम् इदं प्रस्वापं युज्यताम् इति ॥
इत्य् उक्त्वान्तर्हिता राजन् सर्व एव द्विजोत्तमाः ॥
अष्टौ सदृशरूपास् ते सर्वे भास्वरमूर्तयः ॥
evaṃ kuruṣva kauravya prabhāte ratham āsthitaḥ ||
prasuptaṃ vā mṛtaṃ vāpi tulyaṃ manyāmahe vayam ||
na ca rāmeṇa martavyaṃ kadā cid api pārthiva ||
tataḥ samutpannam idaṃ prasvāpaṃ yujyatām iti ||
ity uktvāntarhitā rājan sarva eva dvijottamāḥ ||
aṣṭau sadṛśarūpās te sarve bhāsvaramūrtayaḥ ||
'Do just this, O Kauravya, in the morning, once you have mounted your chariot. We consider the sleeping and the dead to be alike. But Rama, O king, must never die. Therefore let this Prasvapa that has arisen be applied.' Having spoken thus, O king, all eight of those foremost twice-born, alike in form and radiant in body, vanished.
b5dd6b6c96d4 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:04 AM UTC
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After many days of battle, Bhishma for the first time openly acknowledges the limit of his strength: he cannot see how to defeat Rama by ordinary means. The chapter therefore moves the action from the battlefield into the inner realm of nighttime reflection and dream. The answer comes not as a crude intensification of fury but as subtle knowledge: the Prasvapa must subdue, not kill. This marks a significant turn of dharma. Victory need not mean the destruction of an opponent, especially when that opponent is a teacher and a brahmin. Bhishma is shown a path that preserves his kshatriya duty while leaving intact his reverence for Rama.