ककुदं सर्वसैन्यानां लक्ष्म सर्वधनुष्मताम् ॥
धनंजयशरव्याप्तं पितरं ते महाव्रतम् ॥
तं वीरशयने वीरं शयानं पुरुषर्षभम् ॥
भीष्मम् आधिरथिर् दृष्ट्वा भरतानाम् अमध्यमम् ॥
अवतीर्य रथाद् आर्तो बाष्पव्याकुलिताक्षरम् ॥
अभिवाद्याञ्जलिं बद्ध्वा वन्दमानो ऽभ्यभाषत ॥
kakudaṃ sarvasainyānāṃ lakṣma sarvadhanuṣmatām ||
dhanaṃjayaśaravyāptaṃ pitaraṃ te mahāvratam ||
taṃ vīraśayane vīraṃ śayānaṃ puruṣarṣabham ||
bhīṣmam ādhirathir dṛṣṭvā bharatānām amadhyamam ||
avatīrya rathād ārto bāṣpavyākulitākṣaram ||
abhivādyāñjaliṃ baddhvā vandamāno 'bhyabhāṣata ||
[Having beheld him,] the crown of all armies, the mark of all bowmen, pierced with the arrows of Dhananjaya [Arjuna], your forefather, faithful to his great vow — that hero, the bull among men, preeminent among the Bharatas, Bhishma, lying on the hero's bed — the son of Adhiratha [Karna], upon seeing him, stepped down from his chariot, overcome with grief, and, having bowed and joined his folded hands, began to speak reverently, his words broken by tears.
e197b6b47227 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Karna, himself a formidable warrior, steps down from his chariot and folds his hands before the fallen one — and in this bow of foe to foe there shows itself a reverence greater than enmity: before true valor, hostility falls silent. The tears and trembling voice reveal a heart able to honor worth even in one against whose side he fights. "The hero's bed" (vīraśayana) is the honorable name for a couch of arrows: death in battle is no shame for a kshatriya but a crown. The verse teaches that reverence before true greatness stands above the enmity of battle, and that a warrior who can bow before a worthy foe is himself great, for he honors not a side, but virtue.