Shloka 65
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
ते हि सर्वे महात्मानश्वत्वारोडतिरथा भुवि | न शकक््या धर्मतो हन्तुं लोकपालैरपि स्वयम्,'भीष्म, द्रोण, कर्ण और भूरिश्रवा--ये चारों महामना इस भूतलपर अतिरथीके रूपमें विख्यात थे। साक्षात् लोकपाल भी धर्मयुद्ध करके उन सबको नहीं मार सकते थे
te hi sarve mahātmānaś catvāro 'tirathā bhuvi | na śakyā dharmato hantuṁ lokapālair api svayam ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Wahrlich, jene vier großgesinnten Krieger—auf dieser Erde als Atirathas berühmt—konnten nicht auf rechte, dharmagemäße Weise getötet werden; nicht einmal die Lokapālas, die Hüter der Welten, vermöchten sie zu erschlagen, sofern sie an die Regeln des Dharma im Krieg gebunden blieben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the binding force of dharma even upon the strongest: certain outcomes are not achievable through righteous means alone. It highlights how ethical constraints in war (dharmataḥ) can limit even cosmic or supreme power, emphasizing that moral law is not merely a human convention but a governing principle.
Sañjaya is describing the extraordinary stature of four famed Kaurava-side warriors—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa, and Bhūriśravā—calling them atirathas. He asserts that, if one were to adhere strictly to dharma in battle, even the Lokapālas could not slay them, thereby magnifying their prowess and the grim intensity of the war.