कर्ण उवाच
यस्मिन् धृतिर् बुद्धिपराक्रमौजो; दमः सत्यं वीरगुणाश् च सर्वे ॥
अस्त्राणि दिव्यान्य् अथ संनतिर् ह्रीः; प्रिया च वाग् अनपायीनि भीष्मे ॥
ब्रह्मद्विषघ्ने सततं कृतज्ञे; सनातनं चन्द्रमसीव लक्ष्म ॥
स चेत् प्रशान्तः परवीरहन्ता; मन्ये हतान् एव हि सर्वयोधान् ॥
karṇa uvāca
yasmin dhṛtir buddhiparākramaujo; damaḥ satyaṃ vīraguṇāś ca sarve ||
astrāṇi divyāny atha saṃnatir hrīḥ; priyā ca vāg anapāyīni bhīṣme ||
brahmadviṣaghne satataṃ kṛtajñe; sanātanaṃ candramasīva lakṣma ||
sa cet praśāntaḥ paravīrahantā; manye hatān eva hi sarvayodhān ||
[Karna said:] In whom steadfastness, intellect, valor, and vigor, self-restraint, truth, and all the virtues of a hero; divine weapons, as well as humility, modesty, and gentle speech — [all this] dwelt unfailingly in Bhishma, the destroyer of the foes of the brahmins, ever grateful, [and was in him] eternally, like the mark on the moon. If he, the slayer of enemy heroes, is now at peace, I deem all [our] warriors already slain.
92f424c20dba · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Karna weaves a true crown for Bhishma — a roll of virtues in which valor is never parted from humility, modesty, and gratitude: this is the measure of a great man whose strength is hallowed by meekness. The image of "the mark on the moon" is telling: as the spot cannot be separated from the moon, so these qualities were inseparable from Bhishma — not accidental, but the very nature of him. Yet in the bitter conclusion — "I deem all already slain" — the same delusion of the army is laid bare: all hope had been placed in one man, and with his passing everything seems already lost. The verse teaches that true greatness lies in the union of might and humility; and that an army whose trust rests in a mortal, not in truth and in God, already counts itself dead the moment its idol dies.