Shloka 166
Śalya’s Consecration as Senāpati and Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira (शल्यस्य सेनापत्यभिषेकः)
तमभ्येत्यात्मजस्तुभ्यमश्च॒त्थामानमबत्रवीत् । राजन्! तब आपका पुत्र दुर्योधन रथपर बैठकर अश्व॒त्थामाके निकट गया। अश्वत्थामा महारथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ, युद्धविषयक सभी विभिन्न भावोंका ज्ञाता और युद्धमें यमराजके समान भयंकर है। उसके अंग सुन्दर हैं, मस्तक केशोंसे आच्छादित है और कण्ठ शंखके समान सुशोभित होता है। वह प्रिय वचन बोलनेवाला है। उसके नेत्र विकसित कमलदलके समान सुन्दर और मुख व्याप्रके समान भयंकर है। उसमें मेरुपर्वतकी-सी गुरुता है। स्कन्ध, नेत्र, गति और स्वरमें वह भगवान् शंकरके वाहन वृषभके समान है। उसकी भुजाएँ पुष्ट, सुगठित एवं विशाल हैं। वक्ष:स्थलका उत्तमभाग भी सुविस्तृत है। वह बल और वेगमें गरुड़ एवं वायुकी बराबरी करनेवाला है। तेजमें सूर्य और बुद्धिमें शुक्राचार्यके समान है। कान्ति, रूप तथा मुखकी शोभा--इन तीन गुणोंमें वह चन्द्रमाके तुल्य है। उसका शरीर सुवर्णमय प्रस्तरसमूहके समान सुशोभित होता है। अंगोंका जोड़ या संधिस्थान भी सुगठित है। ऊरु, कटिप्रदेश और पिण्डलियाँ--ये सुन्दर और गोल हैं। उसके दोनों चरण मनोहर हैं। अंगुलियाँ और नख भी सुन्दर हैं, मानो विधाताने उत्तम गुणोंका बारंबार स्मरण करके बड़े यत्नसे उसके अंगोंका निर्माण किया हो। वह समस्त शुभलक्षणोंसे सम्पन्न, समस्त कार्योमें कुशल और वेदविद्याका समुद्र है। अश्वत्थामा शत्रुओंपर वेगपूर्वक विजय पानेमें समर्थ है। परंतु शत्रुओंके लिये बलपूर्वक उसके ऊपर विजय पाना असम्भव है। वह दसों* अंगोंसे युक्त चारों: चरणोंवाले धरनुर्वेदको ठीक-ठीक जानता है। छहों अंगोंसहित चार वेदों और इतिहास-पुराण-स्वरूप पंचम वेदका भी अच्छा ज्ञाता है। महातपस्वी अश्वत्थामाको उसके पिता अयोनिज द्रोणाचार्यने बड़े यत्नसे कठोर व्रतोंद्वारा तीन नेत्रोंवाले भगवान् शंकरकी आराधना करके अयोनिजा कृपीके गर्भसे उत्पन्न किया था। उसके कर्मोकी कहीं तुलना नहीं है। इस भूतलपर वह अनुपम रूप-सौन्दर्यसे युक्त है। सम्पूर्ण विद्याओंका पारंगत विद्वान् और गुणोंका महासागर है। उस अनिन्दित अश्वत्थामाके निकट जाकर आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनने इस प्रकार कहा--
tam abhyetya ātmajas tubhyam aśvatthāmānam abravīt | rājan, tava putro duryodhanaḥ rathopaviṣṭaḥ aśvatthāmānam upāgamat | aśvatthāmā mahārathīnāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ, yuddha-viṣayakān nānā-bhāvānāṃ jñātā, yuddhe yama-samo bhayaṅkaraḥ | tasya aṅgāni sundarāṇi, mastakaṃ keśair āvṛtam, kaṇṭhaḥ śaṅkha-sadṛśaḥ śobhate | sa priya-vādy eva; netre vikasita-kamala-dala-sundare, mukhaṃ vyāghra-sadṛśaṃ bhīṣaṇam | tasmin meru-sadṛśī gurutā; skandha-netra-gati-svareṣu sa bhagavataḥ śaṅkarasya vāhana-vṛṣabha-sadṛśaḥ | bāhū puṣṭau sughaṭitau vipulau; vakṣaḥ-sthalasya uttama-bhāgaḥ suvistṛtaḥ | bala-vege garuḍa-vāyu-samo; tejasā sūrya-samo, buddhayā śukrācārya-sadṛśaḥ | kānti-rūpa-mukha-śobhāsu candramā-sadṛśaḥ | śarīraṃ suvarṇa-maya-prastara-saṅghāta-sadṛśaṃ śobhate; sandhayaḥ sughaṭitāḥ | ūrū kaṭi-pradeśaḥ piṇḍalyas ca sundarāḥ golāḥ; caraṇau manoharau; aṅgulyaḥ nakhāś ca sundarāḥ, yathā vidhātā guṇān punaḥ punaḥ smṛtvā mahā-yatnena nirmimīta | sa sarva-śubha-lakṣaṇa-sampannaḥ, sarva-kāryeṣu kuśalaḥ, veda-vidyā-samudraḥ | śatrūn prati vegena vijetuṃ samarthaḥ; tasya tu śatrubhir balāt parājayo 'śakyaḥ | sa daśāṅga-yuktaṃ catuṣpādaṃ dhanur-vedaṃ yathāvat jānāti | ṣaḍ-aṅgaiḥ saha caturo vedān itihāsa-purāṇa-rūpaṃ pañcama-vedaṃ ca sujñātaḥ | mahā-tapasvī aśvatthāmā, a-yonija-dronācāryeṇa kaṭhora-vrataiḥ tri-netraṃ bhagavantaṃ śaṅkaraṃ ārādhya a-yonijāyāḥ kṛpyāḥ garbhāt utpāditaḥ | tasya karmāṇāṃ kvacid upamā nāsti; bhū-tale 'sau anupama-rūpa-saundarya-yuktaḥ, sarva-vidyā-pāragaḥ, guṇa-mahā-sāgaraḥ | tam aninditam aśvatthāmānam upagamya tava putro duryodhanaḥ evam uvāca—
Sañjaya said: Approaching Aśvatthāmā, your son addressed him. O King, Duryodhana, seated upon his chariot, went near Aśvatthāmā. Aśvatthāmā was foremost among great chariot-warriors—one who understood the many shifting moods and strategies of battle, and who in combat was terrifying like Yama, the Lord of Death. His limbs were well-formed; his head was covered with hair; his neck shone like a conch. He spoke pleasing words. His eyes were beautiful like fully opened lotus-petals, yet his face was dreadful like a tiger’s. He possessed a gravity like Mount Meru. In shoulders, gaze, movement, and voice he resembled the bull that bears Lord Śaṅkara. His arms were strong, compact, and broad; the upper part of his chest was expansive. In strength and speed he matched Garuḍa and the wind; in brilliance he was like the sun, and in intelligence like Śukrācārya. In radiance, beauty, and the splendor of his face he was like the moon. His body shone like a mass of golden rock; even his joints were perfectly set. His thighs, waist, and calves were rounded and handsome; his feet were charming; his fingers and nails were beautiful—as though the Creator, recalling excellent qualities again and again, had fashioned his limbs with great care. Endowed with all auspicious marks, skilled in every undertaking, he was an ocean of Vedic learning. He could swiftly overpower enemies, yet it was impossible for enemies to overpower him by force. He knew the science of archery in its complete, well-ordered form, and he was well-versed in the four Vedas with their six auxiliaries, as well as in the ‘fifth Veda’—Itihāsa and Purāṇa. That great ascetic Aśvatthāmā had been brought forth from Kṛpī’s womb by Droṇācārya—born in an extraordinary manner—after severe vows and worship of the three-eyed Lord Śiva. There was no equal to his deeds; on earth he was unmatched in form and beauty, a master of all disciplines and a vast reservoir of virtues. Going near that blameless Aśvatthāmā, your son Duryodhana then spoke as follows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how martial excellence and learning can be used to magnify a warrior’s stature, yet it also implicitly warns that such power—when enlisted for an unrighteous cause—intensifies the ethical weight of the coming actions. Praise of capability is not the same as endorsement of the ends to which it is applied.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana approaches Aśvatthāmā on his chariot. The text pauses to give an extended encomium of Aśvatthāmā—his appearance, prowess, speed, brilliance, learning, and his connection to Śiva through Droṇa’s austerities—before introducing Duryodhana’s forthcoming speech.