Shloka 53
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
तदा मूढो धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्र- स्तप्ता युद्धे दुर्मतिर्दु:सहाय: । दृष्टवा सैन्यं बाणवर्षान्धकारे प्रभज्यन्तं गोकुलवद् रणाग्रे,“महान् संग्रामके समय जब मैं गाण्डीव धनुषकी डोरी खीचूँगा, उस समय मेरे हाथोंकी रगड़से वजपातके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर आवाज होगी, मन्दबुद्धि दुर्योधन जब गाण्डीवकी उस उग्र टंकारको सुनेगा तथा रणस्थलीके अग्रभागमें मेरी बाण-वर्षासे फैले हुए अन्धकारमें इधर-उधर भागती हुई गौओंकी भाँति अपनी सेनाको युद्धसे पलायन करती देखेगा, तब दुष्ट सहायकोंसे युक्त उस दुर्बुद्धि एवं मूढ़ धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रेके मनमें बड़ा संताप होगा
tadā mūḍho dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putras taptā yuddhe durmatir duḥsahāyaḥ | dṛṣṭvā sainyaṃ bāṇavarṣāndhakāre prabhajyantaṃ gokulavad raṇāgre ||
Sañjaya said: “Then the deluded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra—wicked-minded and upheld by cruel allies—will be tormented in battle. For when he hears the fierce twang of the Gāṇḍīva and sees his army, in the darkness woven by the storm of arrows at the very front of the field, breaking and fleeing in all directions like a herd of cattle, anguish will seize his heart.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrighteous intent (durmati) sustained by harmful counsel (duḥsahāya) leads to inner torment when reality tests it; moral failure erodes courage and cohesion, while disciplined valor exposes the fragility of adharma.
Sañjaya describes how Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son will be distressed upon witnessing his forces scatter at the battlefront amid the ‘darkness’ of an intense arrow-shower, likened to cattle fleeing in panic—an image of collapsing morale before Arjuna’s martial prowess symbolized by the Gāṇḍīva.