Shloka 233
अद्य शक्ता रणे जेतुं रथस्थ॑ मां नरषभा: । आज रणभूमिमें रथपर बैठे हुए मुझ अश्वत्थामाको न तो देवता, न गन्धर्व, न असुर, न राक्षस और न कोई श्रेष्ठ मानव वीर ही परास्त कर सकते हैं
adya śaktā raṇe jetuṁ rathasthaṁ māṁ nararṣabhāḥ | āj raṇabhūmau rathopasthaḥ mām aśvatthāmānaṁ na devatā na gandharvā na asurā na rākṣasā na ca kaścid śreṣṭha-mānuṣa-vīraḥ parājayituṁ śaknoti |
Sañjaya said: “Today, seated upon my chariot and ready for battle, I—Aśvatthāmā—am capable of victory. On this battlefield, no god, gandharva, asura, rākṣasa, nor even any foremost human hero can defeat me while I stand upon my chariot.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior’s confidence and the kṣatriya ideal of fearlessness in battle, while also implicitly warning that such absolute claims can border on hubris—an ethical tension repeatedly explored in the Mahābhārata.
In Sañjaya’s report, Aśvatthāmā declares that, mounted on his chariot on the battlefield, he is unbeatable—claiming superiority over divine, semi-divine, and human opponents alike.