Shloka 16
अर्जुन-माहात्म्य-चिन्ता
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Arjuna’s Strategic Supremacy
उद्धरन्निव कायेभ्य: शिरांसि शरवृशिभि: । मुझे तो वीर धनंजय युद्धमें बाणोंको चलाते, योद्धाओंके प्राण लेते और अपनी बाणवर्षद्वारा उनके शरीरोंसे मस्तकोंको काटते हुए-से प्रतीत हो रहे हैं ।। अपि बाणमयं तेज: प्रदीप्तमिव सर्वतः
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | uddharann iva kāyebhyaḥ śirāṃsi śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ | api bāṇamayaṃ tejaḥ pradīptam iva sarvataḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “It seems as though he is tearing heads away from bodies by showers of arrows; and that blazing, arrow-made radiance appears to flare up on every side.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of war: extraordinary prowess (tejas) can appear as an all-consuming blaze, and a ruler’s attachment and anxiety distort perception. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven rivalry leads to catastrophic violence that even elders foresee with dread.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes a vivid, fearful image of Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) in battle—raining arrows, seemingly severing heads from bodies, and filling the field with a blazing radiance of weapon-power—reflecting the mounting inevitability and terror of the coming Kurukṣetra war.