Shloka 28
Adhyaya 60: Self-Assertion, Daiva, and the Rhetoric of Inevitability (उद्योग पर्व)
पितामहमश्न द्रोणश्न॒ कृप: शल्य: शलस्तथा । अस्त्रेषु यत् प्रजानन्ति सर्व तनन््मयि विद्यते
pitāmaham aśna droṇam aśna kṛpaḥ śalyaḥ śalas tathā | astreṣu yat prajānanti sarvaṃ tan mayi vidyate ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— पितामह भीष्म, आचार्य द्रोण, कृप, शल्य और शल—अस्त्रों के विषय में जो कुछ जानते हैं, वह समस्त ज्ञान मुझमें विद्यमान है।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the concentration of martial expertise in a single person, underscoring that great power—especially weapon-knowledge—carries ethical gravity. In the Mahābhārata’s war context, such mastery is not merely skill but a force that can uphold or devastate dharma depending on intent and restraint.
In Udyoga Parva’s build-up to war, a speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) proclaims that the combined weapon-lore of famed elders and champions—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Śalya, and Śala—resides in him, asserting readiness and superiority as tensions escalate toward Kurukṣetra.