Shloka 13
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 165 — Bhīṣma’s Appraisal and Karṇa’s Rebuttal (भीष्म–कर्ण विवादः)
ते हनिष्यन्ति पार्थानां तानासाद्य महारथान् । वरान् वरान् महेष्वासान् क्षत्रियाणां धुरन्धरान्
te haniṣyanti pārthānāṃ tān āsādya mahārathān | varān varān maheṣvāsān kṣatriyāṇāṃ dhurandharān ||
वे पार्थों के उन महारथियों के निकट पहुँचकर उनका वध करेंगे—वे श्रेष्ठ-श्रेष्ठ महाधनुर्धर, क्षत्रिय-धर्म के धुरन्धर।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grave moral weight of war: when conflict escalates, even the foremost kṣatriya leaders—those meant to uphold order—become targets, and the destruction of a society’s pillars becomes a foreseeable consequence of choosing battle over reconciliation.
Bhīṣma is describing an impending confrontation in which opposing warriors will close in upon the Pāṇḍavas’ great chariot-fighters and slay them—highlighting the caliber of those involved and the catastrophic scale of the coming war.