Shloka 16
Arjuna’s Self-Identification and the Ten Names
Uttara–Arjuna Saṃvāda
अथैष वक्चिदेवान्य: क्लीबवेषेण मानव: । शरैरेनं सुनिशितै: पातयिष्यामि भूतले,और यदि यह नपुंसकवेशमें कोई दूसरा ही मनुष्य है, तो इसे अत्यन्त तीखे बाणोंद्वारा अभी इस भूतलपर मार गिराऊँगा
athaiṣa vā kacid evānyaḥ klībaveṣeṇa mānavaḥ | śarair enaṃ suniśitaiḥ pātayiṣyāmi bhūtale ||
Duryodhana sprach: „Oder aber, wenn dies ein anderer Mann ist, der sich in der Gestalt eines Eunuchen verbirgt, dann werde ich ihn mit meinen pfeilscharfen, wie Rasierklingen geschliffenen Geschossen hier auf Erden niederstrecken.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how suspicion and pride can drive one toward rash violence. Ethically, it contrasts impulsive aggression with the need for discernment and restraint—especially when identity is uncertain and the target may be protected by social norms or disguise.
In the Virāṭa episode, Duryodhana suspects that the person appearing in a eunuch’s guise is actually another man (implicitly a concealed warrior). He declares that if it is indeed an impostor, he will shoot him down with sharp arrows, signaling escalation toward open conflict.