Shloka 131
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
विक्रमं विहतं मेन आत्मन: स महायशा: । तस्यास्य समरे राजन् वपुरासीत् सुदुर्दशम्,युद्धमें फुर्ती करने और दृढ़तापूर्वक हाथ चलानेवाले महायशस्वी पाण्डुनन्दन अर्जुन द्रोणकुमारकी ओर देखकर भारी मोहमें पड़ गये और अपने पराक्रमको प्रतिहत हुआ मानने लगे। राजन्! उस समरांगणमें अश्वत्थामाके शरीरकी ओर देखना भी अत्यन्त कठिन हो रहा था
sañjaya uvāca |
vikramaṃ vihataṃ mene ātmanaḥ sa mahāyaśāḥ |
tasyāsya samare rājan vapur āsīt sudurdaśam ||
Sañjaya said: The illustrious warrior deemed his own prowess to have been checked. O King, in that battle the very sight of his body was in a most dreadful state—so terrible that it was hard even to look upon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a renowned hero can feel his strength ‘checked’ when confronted with terrifying sights in war; the verse highlights how violence destabilizes clarity and confidence, making ethical steadiness (dharma-buddhi) difficult to maintain.
Sanjaya reports to the king that the famed warrior felt his own valor thwarted, and that in the battlefield the opponent’s/that person’s bodily appearance was so dreadful that it was hard to look at—signaling a moment of shock and disorientation amid the fighting.