Shloka 166
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness
को जिजीविषुरासादेद् धृष्टद्युम्नं च पार्षतम् कौरवदलमें ऐसा कौन है, जो जीवनकी इच्छा रखते हुए भी युद्धभूमिमें गाण्डीवधन्वा अर्जुन, चक्रधारी भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण, क्रोधमें भरे हुए मुझ सात्यकि, दुर्धर्ष वीर भीमसेन, यम और कालके समान तेजस्वी दृढ़ धनुर्धर नकुल-सहदेव, यम और कालको भी अपने तेजसे तिरस्कृत करनेवाले वीरवर विराट और ट्रुपदका तथा द्रुपदकुमार धृष्टद्युम्मका भी सामना कर सकता है?
ko jijīviṣur āsāded dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca pārṣatam
Vaiśampāyana said: “In the Kaurava host, who—still desiring to live—would dare to meet Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the son of Pṛṣat, upon the field? And who could stand against Arjuna, bearer of Gāṇḍīva; Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, wielder of the discus; me, Sātyaki, filled with wrath; the indomitable Bhīmasena; Nakula and Sahadeva, steadfast bowmen blazing like Yama and Kāla; the heroes Virāṭa and Drupada, whose tejas eclipses even Yama and Kāla; and Dhṛṣṭadyumna, son of Drupada?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral caution: when a conflict is driven by arrogance and adharma, it blinds one to consequences. Confronting superior, righteous-aligned warriors is portrayed as self-destructive—implying that prudence and dharma should restrain the impulse toward war.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the events of the Udyoga Parva, emphasizes the formidable strength of the Pāṇḍava side by highlighting Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata). The rhetorical question suggests that no one who values life would willingly challenge such a warrior.