Shloka 16
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
शार्ज़्गाण्डीवधन्चानौ सहितावपराजितौ । अहं दिव्याद् रथादेक: पातयिष्यामि संयुगे
śārṅga-gāṇḍīva-dhanū cānau sahitāv aparājitau | ahaṃ divyād rathād ekaḥ pātayiṣyāmi saṃyuge ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ces deux héros invaincus, réunis—Kṛṣṇa portant l’arc Śārṅga et Arjuna portant le Gāṇḍīva—moi seul, je les abattrai au combat, les précipitant de leur char divin.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of overconfidence and delusion in war: boasting against the protectors of dharma (Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna) reflects ambition-driven blindness, which in the Mahābhārata repeatedly leads to ruin rather than true heroism.
The narrator reports a warrior’s claim—made to encourage Duryodhana—that he will single-handedly topple Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna together from their divine chariot, despite their reputation as unconquered and supremely armed with Śārṅga and Gāṇḍīva.