Shloka 4
Somadatta’s Kṣātra-Dharma Accusation; Night Combat, Māyā, and the Fall of Ghaṭotkaca
Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 131
रथं रथेन यो हन्यात् कुज्जरं कुज्जरेण च । कस्तस्य समरे स्थाता साक्षादपि पुरंदर:,जो रथसे रथको और हाथीसे हाथीको मार सकता है, उस वीर पुरुषके सामने साक्षात् इन्द्र ही क्यों न हो, कौन युद्धके लिये खड़ा होगा?
rathaṃ rathena yo hanyāt kuñjaraṃ kuñjareṇa ca | kas tasya samare sthātā sākṣād api purandaraḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Who could stand against that man in battle—one who can strike down a chariot with a chariot, and an elephant with an elephant? Even if Purandara (Indra) himself were present, who would dare to face him in war?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming martial capability can shatter opponents’ resolve: when a warrior can counter each arm of warfare with its own equal (chariot vs chariot, elephant vs elephant), even divine comparison (Indra) is invoked to express the psychological and strategic dominance that such prowess creates.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to reports from the battlefield in the Droṇa Parva, marveling at (and implicitly fearing) a warrior’s extraordinary effectiveness in combat. He frames the situation rhetorically: if such a fighter is present, who among men could stand before him—indeed, who would dare even if Indra himself were to appear?