Shloka 40
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
यदा शिखण्डी रथिन: प्रचिन्वन् भीष्म रथेनाभियाता वरूथी । दिव्यैहयैरवमृद्नन् रथौघां- स्तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्
sañjaya uvāca | yadā śikhaṇḍī rathinaḥ pracinvan bhīṣma-rathenābhiyātā varūthī | divyair hayair avamṛdnan rathaughāṃs tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyat ||
Sañjaya sprach: Wenn Śikhaṇḍī—durch die Schutzvorrichtungen seines Wagens wohlgesichert—auf seinem Streitwagen gegen Bhīṣma vorfährt, die vornehmsten Wagenkämpfer auswählt und niederstreckt und mit göttlichen Rossen die Wagenmassen niederwalzt, dann wird Dhṛtarāṣṭras Sohn (Duryodhana) von bitterer Reue ergriffen werden, sobald der Krieg in Wahrheit begonnen hat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Once a war is unleashed, its momentum and moral cost often exceed the instigator’s control; the verse foreshadows remorse arising from seeing revered elders and vast forces crushed by the very conflict one chose to begin.
Sañjaya predicts a battlefield moment: Śikhaṇḍī, strongly protected and mounted on a chariot, advances against Bhīṣma, cutting down chosen chariot-warriors and trampling chariot formations with divine horses; this spectacle will later cause Duryodhana deep regret as the war’s reality unfolds.