Shloka 1
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
अपन का बा | ऑफ क्राछ एकत्रिशो< ध्याय: रात्रिमें कौरवोंकी मन्त्रणा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | svecchandena naḥ sarvān avadhīd vyaktam arjunaḥ | na hāsya samare mucyed antako 'py ātātāyī ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, it is plain that Arjuna, acting entirely by his own will, has slain all our men. In battle, once he takes up his weapons, not even Death himself—though a ruthless aggressor—could escape alive from his hands.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming force of a righteous warrior’s resolve in war and the psychological collapse of the defeated side: Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames Arjuna’s success as unstoppable, even beyond Death’s reach, while implicitly acknowledging the Kauravas’ vulnerability and the consequences of aggression.
After hearing reports of the battlefield, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Sañjaya, lamenting that Arjuna has slaughtered the Kaurava forces at will and declaring Arjuna so formidable that no one—figuratively even Death—can escape him once he fights.