Shloka 15
धृतराष्ट्रस्य बलाबलचिन्ता
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Strength and Preference for Śama
यं चातिमानुषं वीर्ये कृत्स्नो लोको व्यवस्यति । देवानामपि जेतारं यं विदु: पार्थिवा रणे
yaṃ cātimānuṣaṃ vīrye kṛtsno loko vyavasyati | devānām api jetāraṃ yaṃ viduḥ pārthivā raṇe ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—जिसे समस्त लोक पराक्रम में अतिमानुष मानते हैं, और जिसे राजा लोग रण में देवताओं तक को जीतने में समर्थ समझते हैं।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary martial excellence becomes a matter of public moral and political judgment: when a warrior’s prowess is seen as ‘beyond human,’ rulers treat him as a decisive force in the dharmic calculus of war—someone whose presence can overturn even seemingly divine odds.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, narrating to Janamejaya, describes a celebrated warrior (contextually Arjuna in this passage) whose might is universally acknowledged; kings on the battlefield believe him capable of defeating even the gods, underscoring the looming scale of the Kurukṣetra conflict.