Shloka 23
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
दुर्योधनस्तदा राजजन्नार्ष्पशृद्धिमभाषत । एष कार्ष्णिमहाबाहो द्वितीय इव फाल्गुन:
sañjaya uvāca | duryodhanas tadā rājan nārṣaśṛṅgim abhāṣata | eṣa kārṣṇir mahābāho dvitīya iva phālgunaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, then Duryodhana addressed Alambuṣa, the son of Ṛśyaśṛṅga, saying: “O mighty-armed one, this Kārṣṇi is like a second Phālguna (Arjuna).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a recurring Mahābhārata ethic: in war, leaders judge allies and opponents by demonstrated capability, and such recognition can drive strategic choices. It also reflects the kṣatriya-world’s emphasis on valor, where moral tension arises when human worth is reduced to battlefield effectiveness.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana, observing the battle situation, speaks to Alambuṣa and points out that Kārṣṇi (a prominent Yādava warrior, commonly identified as Sātyaki) is as formidable as Arjuna—‘a second Phālguna’—thereby marking him as a major threat.