एवम् उक्तो महाराज पिता देवव्रतस् तव ॥
चिन्तयित्वा मुहूर्तं तु कृत्वा निश्चयम् आत्मनः ॥
तव संधारयन् पुत्रम् अब्रवीच् छंतनोः सुतः ॥
दुर्योधन विजानीहि स्थिरो भव विशां पते ॥
पूर्वकालं तव मया प्रतिज्ञातं महाबल ॥
हत्वा दश सहस्राणि क्षत्रियाणां महात्मनाम् ॥
संग्रामाद् व्यपयातव्यम् एतत् कर्म ममाह्निकम् ॥
इति तत् कृतवांश् चाहं यथोक्तं भरतर्षभ ॥
अद्य चापि महत् कर्म प्रकरिष्ये महाहवे ॥
अहं वा निहतः शेष्ये हनिष्ये वाद्य पाण्डवान् ॥
अद्य ते पुरुषव्याघ्र प्रतिमोक्ष्ये ऋणं महत् ॥
भर्तृपिण्डकृतं राजन् निहतः पृतनामुखे ॥
इत्य् उक्त्वा भरतश्रेष्ठः क्षत्रियान् प्रतपञ् शरैः ॥
आससाद दुराधर्षः पाण्डवानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
evam ukto mahārāja pitā devavratas tava ||
cintayitvā muhūrtaṃ tu kṛtvā niścayam ātmanaḥ ||
tava saṃdhārayan putram abravīc chaṃtanoḥ sutaḥ ||
duryodhana vijānīhi sthiro bhava viśāṃ pate ||
pūrvakālaṃ tava mayā pratijñātaṃ mahābala ||
hatvā daśa sahasrāṇi kṣatriyāṇāṃ mahātmanām ||
saṃgrāmād vyapayātavyam etat karma mamāhnikam ||
iti tat kṛtavāṃś cāhaṃ yathoktaṃ bharatarṣabha ||
adya cāpi mahat karma prakariṣye mahāhave ||
ahaṃ vā nihataḥ śeṣye haniṣye vādya pāṇḍavān ||
adya te puruṣavyāghra pratimokṣye ṛṇaṃ mahat ||
bhartṛpiṇḍakṛtaṃ rājan nihataḥ pṛtanāmukhe ||
ity uktvā bharataśreṣṭhaḥ kṣatriyān pratapañ śaraiḥ ||
āsasāda durādharṣaḥ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm ||
When he had spoken thus, great king, your father Devavrata, having pondered for a moment and reached his resolve, comforted your son. The son of Shantanu said: "Duryodhana, understand this and be steadfast, lord of peoples. Long ago, mighty one, I made you a promise: having slain tens of thousands of great-souled kshatriyas, I would withdraw from the battle — such was my daily task. This I have carried out, bull of the Bharatas, just as I promised. But today I shall perform an even greater deed in this great battle: either I shall lie slain, or today I shall kill the Pandavas. Today, tiger among men, I shall discharge for you the great debt owed for the lord's bread, O king, even should I fall at the front of the army." Having said this, the best of the Bharatas, the unassailable Bhishma, scorching the kshatriyas with his arrows, advanced upon the Pandava army.
2a390700195c · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:55:41 PM UTC
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Bhishma speaks in the language of a warrior's duty: he must repay the support he has received. But beneath this lies a readiness for his own end, for he already knows what the tenth day will bring.