Shloka 2
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
पार्थश्लैको5हरद् भद्रामेक श्चाग्निमतर्पयत् । एकश्नेमां महीं जित्वा चक्रे बलिभूतो नूपान्,अर्जुनने अकेले ही सुभद्राका अपहरण किया, अकेले ही खाण्डव वनमें अग्निदेवको तृप्त किया और अकेले ही इस पृथ्वीको जीतकर सम्पूर्ण नरेशोंको कर देनेवाला बना दिया
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | pārthaḥ ślaikām aharad bhadrām ekaś cāgnim atarpayat | ekaś ca imāṃ mahīṃ jitvā cakre balibhūto nṛpān |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Arjuna allein entführte die edle Subhadrā; er allein sättigte Agni im Khāṇḍava-Wald; und er allein machte, nachdem er diese Erde bezwungen hatte, die Könige tributpflichtig.“
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary personal prowess can reshape political and moral realities: conquest leads to enforced tribute and altered dharma-relations among kings. It also frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious recognition that such power, once unleashed in war, has grave consequences.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls Arjuna’s famed exploits—taking Subhadrā, aiding Agni in the Khāṇḍava episode, and subduing rulers into tributary status—using them as evidence of Arjuna’s unmatched capability while reacting to the escalating events of the Kurukṣetra war.