Shloka 23
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
पुत्रपौत्रै: परिवृतो भ्रातृभिश्रेन्द्रविक्रमै: । स्यालस्तव महाबाहुर्वजसंहननो युवा,समस्त शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ और वज्रके समान सुदृढ़ शरीरवाला आपका नवयुवक साला महाबाहु शकुनि भी अत्यन्त कुपित हो इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी भाइयों तथा पुत्र- पौत्रोंसे घिरकर वहाँ आ पहुँचा
sañjaya uvāca | putrapautraiḥ parivṛto bhrātṛbhiś cendrāvikramaiḥ | śyālas tava mahābāhur vajrasaṃhanano yuvā śakuniḥ samastaśastradhāriṇāṃ śreṣṭho 'tyantaṃ kupito 'pi tatra samupāgataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Your brother-in-law Śakuni—young, mighty-armed, with a body compact and hard as a thunderbolt, and foremost among weapon-bearers—arrived there in great fury, surrounded by his brothers of Indra-like prowess and by his sons and grandsons. The scene underscores how kinship bonds and pride in martial strength can intensify wrath and draw entire family-lines into the momentum of war.
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger, when reinforced by family backing and pride in strength, rapidly escalates violence. It implicitly warns that clan loyalty without ethical restraint can become a vehicle for adharma in wartime.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śakuni, furious and confident in his martial capacity, comes to the battlefield area accompanied by his powerful brothers and by his descendants, signaling a coordinated, family-backed surge into the conflict.