Shloka 11
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 58 — Saṃjaya’s Audience and Kṛṣṇa’s Deterrent Counsel (संजय-प्रवेशः कृष्णवाक्यं च)
इन्द्रविष्णुसमावेतौ मन्दात्मा नावबुद्धयते । संश्रयाद् द्रोणभीष्मा भ्यां कर्णस्य च विकत्थनात्
sañjaya uvāca | indraviṣṇusamāvetau mandātmā nāvabuddhyate | saṃśrayād droṇabhīṣmābhyāṃ karṇasya ca vikatthanāt ||
Sañjaya sprach: Der stumpfsinnige Duryodhana begreift jene beiden Krieger nicht wirklich, die in Kräften vereint sind wie Indra und Viṣṇu. Auf Droṇa und Bhīṣma gestützt und von Karṇas prahlerischen Worten berauscht, bleibt er verblendet—er verkennt das wahre Kräftegleichgewicht und die sittliche Schwere des heraufziehenden Krieges.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moral and strategic blindness arises from arrogance and misplaced reliance: Duryodhana, swayed by the prestige of elders and the boasts of allies, fails to recognize the true (almost divine) prowess of the opposing heroes and the ethical consequences of provoking war.
Sañjaya comments on Duryodhana’s state of mind during the pre-war deliberations: he is overconfident because he leans on Droṇa and Bhīṣma and is encouraged by Karṇa’s bravado, and therefore he cannot properly assess the extraordinary strength of the two principal opponents being compared to Indra and Viṣṇu.