Shloka 10
कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः
Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana
यत्तत् पृथां वागुवाचान्तरिक्षे सप्ताहजाते त्वयि मन्दबुद्धे । जात: पुत्रो वासवविक्रमो<यं सर्वान् शूरान् शात्रवान् जेष्यतीति
sañjaya uvāca |
yat tat pṛthāṃ vāg uvāca antarīkṣe saptāhajāte tvayi mandabuddhe |
jātaḥ putro vāsavavikramo 'yaṃ sarvān śūrān śātravān jeṣyatīti ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «¡Oh, de entendimiento torpe! Cuando apenas tenías siete días de nacido, una voz en el cielo se dirigió a Pṛthā (Kuntī) y proclamó: “Este hijo ha nacido con el valor de Vāsava (Indra); vencerá a todos los enemigos heroicos.”»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how proclaimed destiny (a heavenly prediction of Arjuna’s Indra-like valor) does not remove the ethical burden of action: greatness is foretold, yet it must be enacted through courage, discipline, and alignment with dharma amid the moral complexity of war.
Sañjaya recalls an early prophecy spoken to Kuntī when Arjuna was seven days old: a voice from the sky foretold that her son, possessing Indra’s prowess, would defeat all heroic enemies—used here as a pointed reminder of Arjuna’s destined martial excellence.