Shloka 54
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
बलाहकादुच्चरत: सुभीमान् विद्युत्स्फुलिड्रानिव घोररूपान् | सहस्रध्नान् द्विषतां सड़रेषु अस्थिच्छिदो मर्मभिद: सुपुड्खान्,“मेरे गाण्डीव धनुषकी प्रत्यंचासे छोड़े हुए तीखी धारवाले सुन्दर पंखोंसे युक्त भयंकर बाणसमूह मेघसे निकली हुई अत्यन्त भयानक विद्युतुकी चिनगारियोंके समान जब युद्धभूमिमें शत्रुओंपर पड़ेंगे और उनकी हड्डियोंको काटते तथा मर्मस्थानोंको विदीर्ण करते हुए सहस्र-सहस्र सैनिकोंको मौतके घाट उतारने लगेंगे, साथ ही कितने ही घोड़ों, हाथियों तथा कवचधारी योद्धाओंके प्राण लेना प्रारम्भ करेंगे, उस समय जब धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधन यह सब देखेगा, तब युद्ध छेड़नेकी भूलके कारण वह बहुत पछतायेगा
balāhakād uccarataḥ subhīmān vidyut-sphuliṅgān iva ghora-rūpān | sahasra-ghnān dviṣatāṁ śarāṇeṣu asthi-cchido marma-bhidaḥ su-puṅkhān ||
Sañjaya said: “From the bow Gāṇḍīva will fly forth arrows—terrible to behold—like dreadful sparks of lightning bursting from a thundercloud. Furnished with fine feathers and sharp points, they will cut through bones and pierce vital spots, and in the enemy’s ranks they will become slayers of thousands. When Duryodhana, son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, witnesses this devastation on the battlefield, he will bitterly regret the folly of having provoked this war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral consequence of adharma-driven choices: initiating an unjust war out of pride and greed leads not to glory but to catastrophic suffering and inevitable remorse when the reality of violence becomes undeniable.
Sañjaya vividly foretells the battlefield outcome: Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva will unleash fearsome, well-feathered arrows likened to lightning-sparks from a storm cloud, slaughtering enemy ranks by cutting bones and piercing vital points; seeing this, Duryodhana will repent having set the war in motion.