Shloka 18
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
स्वयं वैरं महत् कृत्वा पाण्डवै: सह सूंजयै: । युद्धास्व तानद्य रणे पश्याम: पुरुषो भव,(अशक्या: पाण्डवा जेतुं देवेरपि सवासवै: ।) “तुमने स्वयं ही पाण्डवों तथा सूंजयोंके साथ महान् वैर ठाना है। अतः अब तुम्हीं युद्ध करो। हम सब लोग देखते हैं। तुम स्वयं पुरुषत्वका परिचय दो। पाण्डवोंको तो इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता भी नहीं जीत सकते
saṃjaya uvāca | svayaṃ vairaṃ mahat kṛtvā pāṇḍavaiḥ saha sṛñjayaiḥ | yuddhasva tān adya raṇe paśyāmaḥ puruṣo bhava | aśakyāḥ pāṇḍavā jetuṃ devair api savāsavaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Having yourself created a great enmity with the Pāṇḍavas together with the Sṛñjayas, now fight them today on the battlefield. We shall watch—show your manhood. The Pāṇḍavas cannot be conquered even by the gods, even with Indra at their head.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores accountability and the moral weight of initiating hostility: one who has deliberately forged a great feud must face its consequences rather than shifting blame. It also conveys a sobering assessment of power—mere force cannot overcome those supported by righteousness and strong alliances, symbolized by the claim that even the gods with Indra cannot defeat the Pāṇḍavas.
Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, delivers a sharp admonition aimed at the Kaurava side: since they themselves created enmity with the Pāṇḍavas and their Sṛñjaya allies, they must now fight and prove their valor. He simultaneously warns of the Pāṇḍavas’ formidable, near-unassailable strength by invoking even the gods led by Indra.