भीष्म उवाच
उक्तवान् अस्मि कल्याणि धर्मस्य तु परां गतिम् ॥
लोके न शक्यते गन्तुम् अपि विप्रैर् महात्मभिः ॥
बलवांस् तु यथा धर्मं लोके पश्यति पूरुषः ॥
स धर्मो धर्मवेलायां भवत्य् अभिहितः परैः ॥
न विवेक्तुं च ते प्रश्नम् एतं शक्नोमि निश्चयात् ॥
सूक्ष्मत्वाद् गहनत्वाच् च कार्यस्यास्य च गौरवात् ॥
bhīṣma uvāca
uktavān asmi kalyāṇi dharmasya tu parāṃ gatim ||
loke na śakyate gantum api viprair mahātmabhiḥ ||
balavāṃs tu yathā dharmaṃ loke paśyati pūruṣaḥ ||
sa dharmo dharmavelāyāṃ bhavaty abhihitaḥ paraiḥ ||
na vivektuṃ ca te praśnam etaṃ śaknomi niścayāt ||
sūkṣmatvād gahanatvāc ca kāryasyāsya ca gauravāt ||
[Bhishma:] "I have already said, gracious one, that the highest path of dharma is unattainable in this world even for great-souled sages. As a powerful man sees dharma in the world, such dharma at the hour of decision comes to be acknowledged as dharma by others. And I cannot resolve your question with certainty -- owing to its subtlety, its unfathomable depth, and its weight."
239a04b742e8 · publicado 16 jul 2026, 16:12:36 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
In Bhishma's words lies a bitter truth about a fallen world: "as the powerful sees dharma, so it is acknowledged." This is not an endorsement of power but a sorrowful testimony that where authority has separated from truth, the law becomes hostage to the strongest. Bhishma does not deceive, yet neither does he find in himself the strength to halt the evil -- and his very confession of powerlessness exposes the tragedy of one bound by oath to serve an unrighteous throne. The verse teaches that knowledge of dharma without the courage to profess it bears no fruit; and that the excuse "the question is too subtle" in the hour of manifest wrongdoing is itself already an evasion -- for some matters are subtle for argument yet transparent to conscience.