Shloka 23
Kaurava Mobilization at Kurukṣetra (Duryodhana Orders War Preparations) / कुरुक्षेत्रे धार्तराष्ट्र-सैन्यसज्जा
सुभू: सुदंष्ट्र: सुहनु: सुबाहु: सुमुखो5कृश: । सुजन्रु: सुविशालाक्ष: सुपाद: सुप्रतिक्तित:
subhūḥ sudaṁṣṭraḥ suhanūḥ subāhuḥ sumukho'kṛśaḥ | sujānuḥ suviśālākṣaḥ supādaḥ supratikṣitaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “He is auspicious in form—strong-toothed, firm-jawed, mighty-armed, fair-faced and not lean; well-kneed, wide-eyed, beautiful-footed, and excellently protected (invulnerable).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse (and its surrounding passage) frames martial excellence as ethically charged responsibility: extraordinary power and protection are praised not for vanity, but for bearing the harsh burdens of dharma in war—enduring fearsome weapons and leading others when conflict becomes unavoidable.
Vaiśaṃpāyana recounts a laudatory description of Dhṛṣṭadyumna through a chain of auspicious epithets. In the broader context, he is presented as a divinely manifested commander—born from the fire-rite, armed and chariot-mounted—considered uniquely capable of withstanding Bhīṣma’s dreadful arrows and destined to bring about Droṇa’s downfall.