Shloka 27
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
संयुगं ये गमिष्यन्ति नररूपेण मृत्युना । नियतं चोदिता धात्रा सिंहेनेव महामृगा:,जैसे महान् मृग सिंहसे भिड़ जाय, उसी प्रकार जो लोग उस मनुष्यरूपी यमराजके साथ लड़नेके लिये युद्धभूमिमें उतरेंगे, उन्हें विधाताने ही मृत्युके लिये प्रेरित करके भेजा है, ऐसा मानना चाहिये
saṃyugaṃ ye gamiṣyanti nararūpeṇa mṛtyunā | niyataṃ coditā dhātrā siṃheneva mahāmṛgāḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Those who will go to battle against Death appearing in human form—like great beasts rushing to grapple with a lion—should be understood as having been impelled by the Ordainer himself toward a fixed end, namely death.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as an arena where death can appear ‘in human form’; those who rush into such combat are seen as already driven by the cosmic Ordainer toward an inevitable end. It highlights the tension between human agency and destiny, and the ethical gravity of choosing war.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the impending conflict and portrays the opponent as ‘Death in human form.’ Using the image of great beasts challenging a lion, he suggests that warriors who enter such a battle do so under a divine compulsion toward certain death.