भीष्म उवाच
ततो ऽहं निशि राजेन्द्र प्रणम्य शिरसा तदा ॥
ब्राह्मणानां पितॄणां च देवतानां च सर्वशः ॥
नक्तंचराणां भूतानां रजन्याश् च विशां पते ॥
शयनं प्राप्य रहिते मनसा समचिन्तयम् ॥
जामदग्न्येन मे युद्धम् इदं परमदारुणम् ॥
अहानि सुबहून्य् अद्य वर्तते सुमहात्ययम् ॥
न च रामं महावीर्यं शक्नोमि रणमूर्धनि ॥
विजेतुं समरे विप्रं जामदग्न्यं महाबलम् ॥
यदि शक्यो मया जेतुं जामदग्न्यः प्रतापवान् ॥
दैवतानि प्रसन्नानि दर्शयन्तु निशां मम ॥
bhīṣma uvāca
tato 'haṃ niśi rājendra praṇamya śirasā tadā ||
brāhmaṇānāṃ pitṝṇāṃ ca devatānāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ ||
naktaṃcarāṇāṃ bhūtānāṃ rajanyāś ca viśāṃ pate ||
śayanaṃ prāpya rahite manasā samacintayam ||
jāmadagnyena me yuddham idaṃ paramadāruṇam ||
ahāni subahūny adya vartate sumahātyayam ||
na ca rāmaṃ mahāvīryaṃ śaknomi raṇamūrdhani ||
vijetuṃ samare vipraṃ jāmadagnyaṃ mahābalam ||
yadi śakyo mayā jetuṃ jāmadagnyaḥ pratāpavān ||
daivatāni prasannāni darśayantu niśāṃ mama ||
Bhishma said: Then at night, O king of kings, having bowed my head, I paid homage to the brahmins, the ancestors, and the gods on every side. Having also honored the beings that roam by night and the night herself, O lord of the peoples, I lay down in a solitary place and began to reflect: 'This battle with Jamadagnya, utterly terrible, has now lasted very many days and carries the gravest peril. I am unable to defeat in combat the mighty Rama, the brahmin Jamadagnya, possessed of great valor. If powerful Jamadagnya can indeed be defeated by me, let the gracious gods reveal this to me tonight.'
9457400c3f79 · प्रकाशित 17 जुल॰ 2026, 6:42:04 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
After many days of battle, Bhishma for the first time openly acknowledges the limit of his strength: he cannot see how to defeat Rama by ordinary means. The chapter therefore moves the action from the battlefield into the inner realm of nighttime reflection and dream. The answer comes not as a crude intensification of fury but as subtle knowledge: the Prasvapa must subdue, not kill. This marks a significant turn of dharma. Victory need not mean the destruction of an opponent, especially when that opponent is a teacher and a brahmin. Bhishma is shown a path that preserves his kshatriya duty while leaving intact his reverence for Rama.