Shloka 146

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness

Devanagari script

वेगं समर्था: संसोढुं वज़स्येव महीधरा: । जैसे बड़े-बड़े पर्वत भी वज्गजका वेग सहन करनेमें समर्थ नहीं हैं, उसी प्रकार युद्धकी इच्छा रखनेवाले और क्रोधमें भरे हुए मुझ सात्यकिके प्रहार-वेगको सहन करनेकी सामर्थ्य उनमेंसे किसीमें भी नहीं है

Transliteration

vegaṃ samarthāḥ saṃsoḍhuṃ vajrasyeva mahīdharāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Selbst gewaltige Berge vermögen dem Ansturm eines Blitzes nicht standzuhalten. Ebenso hat keiner von ihnen—so sehr sie auch nach Kampf verlangen und vor Zorn anschwellen—die Kraft, der Wucht meiner Schläge (Sātyakis) zu widerstehen.“

Word by Word

वेगम्speed, impetus

समर्थाःcapable

संसोढुम्to endure, to bear

वज्रस्यof the thunderbolt

इवlike, as

महीधराःmountains (earth-bearers)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

vajra (Indra’s thunderbolt)

mahīdharāḥ (mountains)

Sātyaki (implied by the accompanying sense)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a thunderbolt–mountain simile to stress that uncontrolled wrath and the thirst for battle do not automatically confer true strength; real power is measured by the capacity to endure and prevail, not merely by aggressive intent.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war atmosphere, the narration highlights martial confidence through a vivid comparison: just as mountains cannot bear a thunderbolt’s impact, the opponents are portrayed as unable to withstand the speaker’s (Sātyaki’s) attack-force.