Shloka 17
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
उपवासकृशो राजा भृशं भरतसत्तम: । ब्राह्मे बले स्थितो होष न क्षात्रे हि बले विभुः
upavāsa-kṛśo rājā bhṛśaṃ bharata-sattamaḥ | brāhme bale sthito hoṣa na kṣātre hi bale vibhuḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ce roi—le plus éminent des Bharata—s’est trouvé grandement amaigri par le jeûne. Il demeure à présent dans la puissance brahmanique (celle de la retenue et de la discipline spirituelle) et n’est pas en mesure de manifester la force du kṣatriya au combat.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two kinds of power: brāhma-bala (restraint, spiritual discipline, moral authority) and kṣātra-bala (martial vigor and the capacity to fight). It suggests that excessive ascetic practice like fasting can diminish a king’s ability to perform kṣatriya-duty in war, raising an ethical tension between personal austerity and public responsibility.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira has become extremely weak due to fasting. Because of this, he is described as being in a brahmanical mode of strength rather than displaying the warrior’s strength needed on the battlefield.