Shloka 293
Adhyāya 35 — Bhīmasena’s Counter-Encirclement and the Karṇa Engagement Escalation
राधेय गाण्डिवस्थाजौ तदा नैवं वदिष्यसि । वे साक्षात् इन्द्रके मनमें भी भय उत्पन्न कर सकते हैं। राधापुत्र! जब तुम युद्धस्थलमें वज्रकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान गाण्डीव धनुषका गम्भीर घोष सुनोगे
rādheya gāṇḍīvasthājau tadā naivaṁ vadiṣyasi | yaḥ sākṣād indrake manmany api bhayam utpādayituṁ śaknoti | rādheya! yadā tvaṁ yuddhasthale vajragarjanāsamaṁ gāṇḍīvadhanur gāmbhīryaghoṣaṁ śroṣyasi tadā naivam uktavān bhaviṣyasi ||
Śalya sprach: „O Sohn der Rādhā (Karṇa), dann wirst du nicht mehr so reden. Er vermag selbst in Indras Herzen Furcht zu erwecken. Sohn der Rādhā, wenn du auf dem Schlachtfeld das tiefe, gewichtige Dröhnen des Gāṇḍīva-Bogens hörst, gleich dem Krachen des Vajra, dann wirst du nicht länger so sprechen.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śalya warns against overconfidence: true assessment of an opponent’s prowess is part of kṣatriya prudence. Reputation and demonstrated power (symbolized by the Gāṇḍīva’s thunderous sound) should temper boastful speech and cultivate strategic humility.
In Karṇa Parva, Śalya—serving as Karṇa’s charioteer—rebukes Karṇa’s talk by invoking Arjuna’s terrifying martial presence. He says that once Karṇa hears the deep, thunderbolt-like roar of Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva on the battlefield, Karṇa will stop speaking so dismissively.