Shloka 83
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत आश्वमेधिकपर्वके अन्तर्गत अनुगीतापर्वनें यज्ञसग्बन्धी अश्चका अनुसरणविषयक तिरासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,स राजा शकुने: पुत्र: पाण्डवं प्रत्यवारयत् । जब चारों ओर युद्धमें गान्धारोंका संहार आरम्भ हो गया, तब राजा शकुनि-पुत्रने पाण्डुकुमार अर्जुनको रोका
sa rājā śakuneḥ putraḥ pāṇḍavaṃ pratyavārayat | yadā samantād yuddhe gāndhārāṇāṃ saṃhāra ārabdhaḥ tadā rājā śakuni-putraḥ pāṇḍu-kumāram arjunaṃ avārayat |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then the king—Śakuni’s son—checked the Pāṇḍava. When, on every side, the slaughter of the Gāndhāras in battle had begun, Śakuni’s son restrained Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu. The moment shows how, amid the chaos of war, individual confrontations arise that both intensify violence and test the warrior’s resolve and discernment in action.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within the momentum of mass violence, dharma is tested at the level of personal choice: restraint, resolve, and discernment determine how a warrior meets an opponent and how responsibility is borne amid collective destruction.
As the Gāndhāras are being cut down on all sides, Śakuni’s son (Ulūka) steps forward and blocks Arjuna, initiating a direct confrontation by physically and tactically checking the Pāṇḍava’s advance.