Shloka 2
Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption
दिष्ट्या पश्यामि संग्रामे मानिनं शूरमागतम् । निष्ठर॑ त्यक्तर्थर्माणमाक्रोशनपरायणम्,“बड़े सौभाग्यकी बात है कि आज मैं युद्धमें सामने आये हुए और अपनेको शूरवीर माननेवाले तुझ अभिमानी, निष्ठुर, धर्मत्यागी और दूसरोंकी निन्दामें तत्पर रहनेवाले शत्रुको प्रत्यक्ष देख रहा हूँ
sañjaya uvāca | diṣṭyā paśyāmi saṅgrāme māninaṃ śūram āgatam | niṣṭhuraṃ tyaktadharmāṇam ākrośanaparāyaṇam |
Sañjaya said: “By good fortune, here in the midst of battle I behold, face to face, the enemy who has come forth—one who prides himself on being a hero, yet is arrogant, ruthless, a forsaker of dharma, and devoted to abuse and denunciation.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical judgment in war: true heroism is not mere self-asserted valor. Pride, cruelty, abandonment of dharma, and delight in abusive speech are marks of adharma, even if the person claims to be a ‘hero’.
Sañjaya reports that, on the battlefield, he sees an opposing warrior who has come forward. He characterizes this enemy as proud and self-styled heroic, but morally degraded—ruthless, dharma-abandoning, and prone to reviling others.