Shloka 23
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
हतप्रवीरं विमुखं भयार्त॑ पराड्मुखं प्रायशोधृष्टयो धम् । शस्त्रार्चिषा भीमसेनेन दग्धं तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्
sañjaya uvāca | hatapravīraṃ vimukhaṃ bhayārtaṃ parāṅmukhaṃ prāyaśo dhṛṣṭatāṃ gatam | śastrārcīṣā bhīmasenena dagdhaṃ tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro 'nutapsyati ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Wenn Duryodhana das Kaurava-Heer sieht, seiner vornehmsten Helden beraubt, abgewandt und in Schrecken fliehend—da die meisten Krieger ihre Kühnheit verloren haben—gleichsam verbrannt vom flammenden Glanz der Waffen Bhīmasenas, dann wird der Sohn Dhṛtarāṣṭras bitter bereuen, den Krieg erwählt zu haben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that choosing war out of stubbornness and adharma leads not only to physical destruction but to moral and psychological collapse—loss of courage, disorder in the ranks, and eventual remorse. Leadership that ignores righteous counsel ultimately reaps repentance.
Sañjaya foretells the future battlefield outcome: Bhīma’s prowess will devastate the Kaurava forces, killing key heroes and causing widespread panic and retreat. Seeing his army burned down and broken, Duryodhana (as Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) will later regret having pursued war.