Shloka 2
Adhyaya 60: Self-Assertion, Daiva, and the Rhetoric of Inevitability (उद्योग पर्व)
अशक्या देवसचिवा: पार्था: स्युरिति यद् भवान् | मन्यते तद् भयं व्येतु भवतो राजसत्तम,“नृपश्रेष्ठ आप जो ऐसा मानते हैं कि कुन्तीके पुत्रोंकी जीतना असम्भव है, क्योंकि देवता उनके सहायक हैं, यह ठीक नहीं है। आपके मनसे यह भय निकल जाना चाहिये
aśakyā devasacivāḥ pārthāḥ syur iti yad bhavān | manyate tad bhayaṃ vyetu bhavato rājasattama ||
“O best of kings, if you think, ‘The Pārthas are impossible to overcome because the gods stand as their allies,’ then let that fear leave your mind. Such an assumption should not unnerve you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not let fear arise from assumptions about an opponent’s ‘divine backing’; a ruler should maintain steadiness of mind and judge the situation without panic.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports counsel addressed to a king: the speaker urges him to abandon the fear that the Pāṇḍavas cannot be defeated because the gods support them.