Shloka 746
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
न भवान् समरे शक: सेन्द्रैरपि सुरासुरै: । वज्रधारी इन्द्र, वरूण और यम--इन सबको जीता जा सकता है; परंतु आपको तो समरभूमिमें इन्द्र आदि देवता और असुर भी नहीं जीत सकते
na bhavān samare śakyaḥ sendrair api surāsuraiḥ | vajradhārī indraḥ varuṇaś ca yamaś ca—etān sarvān jetuṃ śakyate; kintu bhavantaṃ tu samara-bhūmau indrādayo devā asurāś ca na jetuṃ śaknuvanti |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In battle you are unconquerable—even by the gods and the asuras together, even with Indra at their head. Indra the wielder of the thunderbolt, Varuṇa, and Yama—these can be overcome; but you, on the battlefield, cannot be overcome even by Indra and the other gods, nor by the asuras.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses hyperbolic praise to assert a warrior’s unmatched prowess: even the highest cosmic powers (Indra, Varuṇa, Yama, along with devas and asuras) are portrayed as unable to defeat the addressed hero. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s war-context rhetoric where morale, reputation, and perceived dharmic strength are reinforced through exalted commendation.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a formidable figure on the battlefield, declaring him unconquerable. By naming major deities and contrasting them with the addressee’s superiority, he heightens the dramatic stakes of the conflict and underscores the extraordinary martial capacity attributed to that person in this episode.