Shloka 22
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय २५: संजयदूतवाक्यम्
Sañjaya’s Envoy-Speech on Peace
कर्णश्र॒ जानाति सुयोधनश्च द्रोणक्ष जानाति पितामहश्न । अन्ये च ये कुरवस्तत्र सन्ति यथार्जुनान्नास्त्यपरो धनुर्धर:
karṇaś ca jānāti suyodhanaś ca droṇaś ca jānāti pitāmahaś ca | anye ca ye kuravas tatra santi yathārjunān nāsty aparo dhanurdharaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Karna knows it, and so does Suyodhana; Drona knows it, and the grandsire Bhishma knows it as well. Indeed, all the other Kurus present there know this truth—that there is no archer equal to Arjuna.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even adversaries may clearly recognize true excellence; the ethical tension arises when, despite such knowledge, pride and political resolve still drive one toward war and its consequences.
Sañjaya reports a shared awareness among leading Kaurava figures—Karna, Duryodhana, Droṇa, Bhīṣma, and others—that Arjuna is without equal as an archer, setting the stakes and gravity of the impending conflict.