Shloka 19
Dhanañjaya-viraha-śoka and the Resolve to Enter Gandhamādana (धनंजय-विरह-शोकः गन्धमादन-प्रवेश-संकल्पश्च)
वासुदेवसमं वीर्ये कार्तवीर्यसमं युधि । अजेयममितं युद्धे तं न पश्यामि फाल्गुनम्,जो पराक्रममें भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण और युद्धमें कार्तवीर्य अर्जुनके समान है; तथा जो समरभूमिमें एक होकर भी असंख्य-सा प्रतीत होता है, उस अजेय वीर अर्जुनको मैं बहुत दिनोंसे नहीं देख पाता हूँ
vāsudevasamaṃ vīrye kārtavīryasamaṃ yudhi | ajeyam amitaṃ yuddhe taṃ na paśyāmi phālgunam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In prowess he is equal to Vāsudeva, and in battle he is equal to Kārtavīrya. Unconquerable, and in war seeming immeasurable—though he is but one—yet that hero Phālguna (Arjuna) I have not been able to see for many days.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic ideal of recognizing true excellence without envy: Yudhiṣṭhira praises Arjuna’s extraordinary valor by comparing him to renowned exemplars (Kṛṣṇa and Kārtavīrya), while also expressing responsible concern for a key protector whose absence threatens the group’s security and moral order.
Yudhiṣṭhira laments that he has not seen Arjuna for many days. He underscores Arjuna’s unmatched battle-worthiness—invincible and seemingly ‘immeasurable’ in war—thereby conveying both admiration and anxiety about Arjuna’s prolonged absence during the forest-exile context.