Shloka 21
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
शैक्येन नागांस्तरसा विगृह्नन् यदा छेत्ता धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सैन्यम् छिन्दन् वन॑ परशुनेव शूर- स्तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्
sañjaya uvāca | śaikyena nāgāṁs tarasā vigṛhṇan yadā chettā dhārtarāṣṭrasya sainyaṁ chindan vanaṁ paraśuneva śūraḥ | tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyat ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Wenn jener heldenhafte ‘Niedermäher’ (Bhīma), mächtige Krieger packend, als wären es große Schlangen, die man mit einer Schlinge ergreift, und sie mit unwiderstehlicher Kraft schleifend, beginnt, Dhṛtarāṣṭras Heer zu spalten—es zu zerhauen wie ein Holzfäller einen Wald mit der Axt—dann wird der Sohn Dhṛtarāṣṭras (Duryodhana) mitten in der Schlacht von innerer Reue verzehrt werden, da er erkennt, dass er durch das Entfachen des Krieges einen schweren Fehler beging.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Aggression rooted in pride and refusal of rightful settlement leads to catastrophic loss and inevitable remorse; the verse frames war as a moral and strategic blunder whose consequences cannot be undone once unleashed.
Sañjaya foretells the battlefield outcome: Bhīma will tear through the Kaurava forces with overwhelming power, and Duryodhana—seeing his army shattered—will inwardly repent for having initiated the war.