Shloka 59
अप्रमेयाणि दुर्धर्षे कथं स निहतो युधि । जिन पुरुषरत्न तथा दुर्धर्ष वीरशिरोमणिमें अस्त्र, बुद्धि और नीति तीन अप्रमेय शक्तियाँ थीं, वे युद्धमें कैसे मारे गये? ।। ५८ है ।। न चास्त्रेण न शौर्येण तपसा मेधया न च
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | aprameyāṇi durdharṣe kathaṁ sa nihato yudhi | na cāstreṇa na śauryeṇa tapasā medhayā na ca ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O invincible one, how was he slain in battle? That jewel among men, that hero so hard to assail, possessed three immeasurable powers—arms, intellect, and statecraft. How then did he fall in war? Not by weapons, not by valor, not by austerity, and not by intellect—by none of these could he be overcome.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary prowess—weapon-skill, bravery, austerity, and intellect—does not guarantee invincibility; in the Mahābhārata’s ethical world, downfall can come through circumstance, strategy, and the complex workings of dharma and destiny rather than sheer personal power.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of a great warrior’s death, expresses disbelief and questions how someone reputed to possess immeasurable strengths could be killed in battle, emphasizing that neither arms, valor, ascetic force, nor intelligence seemed sufficient to defeat him.