Shloka 13
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 165 — Bhīṣma’s Appraisal and Karṇa’s Rebuttal (भीष्म–कर्ण विवादः)
ते हनिष्यन्ति पार्थानां तानासाद्य महारथान् । वरान् वरान् महेष्वासान् क्षत्रियाणां धुरन्धरान्
te haniṣyanti pārthānāṃ tān āsādya mahārathān | varān varān maheṣvāsān kṣatriyāṇāṃ dhurandharān ||
قال بهيشما: «حين يقتربون من أولئك المقاتلين العظام على المركبات من أبناء بريثا، سيصرعونهم—أولئك الأبطال الأوائل، الرماة الأقوياء، أعلام طبقة الكشاتريا وحَمَلة أعبائها.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grave moral weight of war: when conflict escalates, even the foremost kṣatriya leaders—those meant to uphold order—become targets, and the destruction of a society’s pillars becomes a foreseeable consequence of choosing battle over reconciliation.
Bhīṣma is describing an impending confrontation in which opposing warriors will close in upon the Pāṇḍavas’ great chariot-fighters and slay them—highlighting the caliber of those involved and the catastrophic scale of the coming war.