Shloka 31
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
यमवरुणकुबेरवासवा वा यदि युगपत्सगणा महाहवे । जुगुपिषव इहैत्य पाण्डवं किमु बहुना सह तैर्जयामि तम्
yamavaruṇakuberavāsavā vā yadi yugapat sagaṇā mahāhave | jugupiṣava ihaitya pāṇḍavaṁ kimu bahunā saha tair jayāmi tam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Apa gunanya berkata lebih banyak? Sekalipun Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, dan Vāsava (Indra) datang serentak ke medan perang besar ini bersama bala tentaranya, hendak melindungi putra Pāṇḍu di sini, tetap saja aku akan menaklukkannya—bahkan beserta mereka.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the peril of overconfidence in war: heroic resolve can harden into pride that dismisses even divine opposition. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such boasting contrasts with humility before dharma and the unpredictable workings of fate.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s defiant claim that even if major gods arrived with their armies to protect Arjuna, he would still defeat Arjuna along with them—an escalation of martial bravado amid the climactic fighting of the Karṇa Parva.