तस्य पुत्रो हि भगवन् भीष्मद्रोणमुखै रथैः ॥
पराजित्य महेष्वासान् पाण्डवान् राज्यम् इच्छति ॥
तस्मिन् हते तु भगवन् केतौ सर्वधनुष्मताम् ॥
यद् अचेष्टत कौरव्यस् तन् मे ब्रूहि द्विजोत्तम ॥
tasya putro hi bhagavan bhīṣmadroṇamukhai rathaiḥ ||
parājitya maheṣvāsān pāṇḍavān rājyam icchati ||
tasmin hate tu bhagavan ketau sarvadhanuṣmatām ||
yad aceṣṭata kauravyas tan me brūhi dvijottama ||
Indeed his son [Duryodhana], O venerable one, desires [to win] the kingdom by conquering the great bowmen Pandavas with chariot-warriors led by Bhishma and Drona. But when that one, O venerable one — the banner of all bowmen — was slain, what did Kauravya [Dhritarashtra] do? Tell me that, O best of the twice-born.
45a2f622396c · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Janamejaya calls Bhishma "the banner of all bowmen" — the standard beneath which the formation holds: while it stands, the army believes in victory; when it falls, the spirit falls with it. This image reveals the nature of a hope placed not in dharma but in a single man: it is fragile, for even the strongest is mortal. The question "what has Dhritarashtra done now" bares the root of the whole calamity — the blind king, who sought to overcome the Pandavas by another's hand for his son's sake, is left with nothing once that hand is broken. The verse teaches that any claim propped on mortal strength collapses when that strength falls.