एवम् उक्तः स पितृभिः पितॄन् रामो ऽब्रवीद् इदम् ॥
नाहं युधि निवर्तेयम् इति मे व्रतम् आहितम् ॥
न निवर्तितपूर्वं च कदा चिद् रणमूर्धनि ॥
निवर्त्यताम् आपगेयः कामं युद्धात् पितामहाः ॥
न त्व् अहं विनिवर्तिष्ये युद्धाद् अस्मात् कथं चन ॥
ततस् ते मुनयो राजन्न् ऋचीकप्रमुखास् तदा ॥
नारदेनैव सहिताः समागम्येदम् अब्रुवन् ॥
निवर्तस्व रणात् तात मानयस्व द्विजोत्तमान् ॥
नेत्य् अवोचम् अहं तांश् च क्षत्रधर्मव्यपेक्षया ॥
मम व्रतम् इदं लोके नाहं युद्धात् कथं चन ॥
विमुखो विनिवर्तेयं पृष्ठतो ऽभ्याहतः शरैः ॥
evam uktaḥ sa pitṛbhiḥ pitṝn rāmo 'bravīd idam ||
nāhaṃ yudhi nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam ||
na nivartitapūrvaṃ ca kadā cid raṇamūrdhani ||
nivartyatām āpageyaḥ kāmaṃ yuddhāt pitāmahāḥ ||
na tv ahaṃ vinivartiṣye yuddhād asmāt kathaṃ cana ||
tatas te munayo rājann ṛcīkapramukhās tadā ||
nāradenaiva sahitāḥ samāgamyedam abruvan ||
nivartasva raṇāt tāta mānayasva dvijottamān ||
nety avocam ahaṃ tāṃś ca kṣatradharmavyapekṣayā ||
mama vratam idaṃ loke nāhaṃ yuddhāt kathaṃ cana ||
vimukho vinivarteyaṃ pṛṣṭhato 'bhyāhataḥ śaraiḥ ||
Thus addressed by his ancestors, Rama said to them: 'I will not retreat in battle — such is the vow I have taken. Never before have I withdrawn at the height of a fight. Let the son of Ganga be stopped from battle, if you wish, O forefathers; but I will in no way withdraw from this combat.' Then, O king, the sages headed by Richika, together with Narada himself, gathered and said to me: 'Withdraw from the battle, my son; show honor to the foremost of the twice-born.' But I said 'No' to them, having regard for the dharma of the kshatriya. 'This is my vow in this world: I will never turn away from battle, struck by arrows in the back.'
8ab3478367eb · publicado 17 jul 2026, 6:42:04 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here the duel finally comes to a stop — not through defeat, but through the intervention of a higher order. Narada, the gods, the ancestors, the sages, and Ganga restrain them both: Bhishma from using Prasvapa against his teacher, and Rama from continuing to fight a kshatriya whom he neither should nor can kill. The chapter shows a rare form of victory: both sides keep their vow, yet accept the limit set by dharma. It is especially significant that Bhishma bows to Rama once the battle stops. He does not turn strength into pride; reverence for the guru remains higher than a warrior's self-regard.