Shloka 29
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
पताकिनं वज्जनिपातनि:स्वनं सिताश्चयुक्ते शुभतूणशोभितम् । इमं समास्थाय रथं रथर्षभं रणे हनिष्याम्यहमर्जुनं बलात्
patākinaṃ vajranipātaniḥsvanaṃ sitāśvayukte śubhatūṇaśobhitam | imaṃ samāsthāya rathaṃ ratharṣabhaṃ raṇe haniṣyāmy aham arjunaṃ balāt ||
Sanjaya berkata: “Kereta ini berpanji, derumnya laksana hantaman halilintar; dipasangi kuda-kuda putih dan dihiasi tabung anak panah yang elok. Dengan menaiki kereta—yang terbaik di antara kereta—aku akan membunuh Arjuna di medan perang dengan kekuatan semata.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial confidence and attachment to power (strength, weapons, a superior chariot) can generate certainty about outcomes in war. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: human resolve and boastful agency versus the larger forces of dharma, destiny, and the consequences of violence.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s declaration: admiring an excellent, thunderous chariot with banners, white horses, and fine quivers, he vows to mount it and kill Arjuna in battle by force. It functions as battlefield rhetoric—an assertion of dominance immediately before or during combat.