Shloka 72

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration

Sañjaya’s Report

Devanagari script

गिरिं य इच्छेत्‌ तु तलेन भेत्तु शिलोच्चयं श्वेतमतिप्रमाणम्‌ | तस्यैव पाणि: सनखो विशीरयें- न्न चापि किंचित्‌ स गिरेस्तु कुर्यात्‌

Transliteration

giriṁ ya icchet tu talena bhettuṁ śilocchayaṁ śvetam atipramāṇam | tasyaiva pāṇiḥ sanakho viśīryen na cāpi kiṁcit sa gires tu kuryāt ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Wollte ein Mensch mit nichts als dem Schlag seiner Handfläche eine hoch aufragende Felsmasse spalten—den weißen Berg von unermesslicher Größe—, so würde seine eigene Hand, samt den Nägeln, zerschmettert. Der Berg bliebe völlig unversehrt. Dieses Wort zeigt die Torheit, das Unangreifbare anzugreifen: blinde Kraft, nicht durch Einsicht gezügelt, vernichtet den Angreifer, nicht das Ziel seines Hasses.

Word by Word

• {'giri': 'mountain', 'icchet': 'would wish, would desire', 'tala': 'palm of the hand', 'bhettum': 'to split, to break asunder', 'śilocchaya': 'heap/mass of rocks

• rocky pile', 'śveta': 'white, bright', 'atipramāṇa': 'of excessive/immeasurable magnitude', 'tasya eva': 'of him alone

• his very (own)', 'pāṇi': 'hand', 'sanakha': 'together with the nails', 'viśīryet': 'would be torn apart, shattered, disintegrate', 'na ca api': 'and not even', 'kiṁcit': 'anything at all', 'gireḥ tu': 'of the mountain, however', 'kuryāt': 'would do, would accomplish'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• गिरि (mountain)
• शिलोच्चय (mass of rocks)
• श्वेतः अतिप्रमाणः गिरिः (the vast white mountain; implied Kailāsa in the Hindi gloss)
• तल (palm)
• पाणि (hand)
• नख (nails)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Blind aggression against an immovable or vastly superior reality is self-destructive. Ethical strength here is discernment (viveka): choosing proportionate, lawful means rather than prideful violence that rebounds upon oneself.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya uses a vivid simile: someone trying to crack an enormous white mountain with a palm-strike only ends up shattering his own hand. The image functions as counsel—warning that certain confrontations, driven by arrogance or impatience, cannot succeed and will instead harm the instigator.