Shloka 136
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
महत् कृतं कर्म धनंजयेन कर्तु यथा नाहति कश्चिदन्य: । उस समय रात्रिके आरम्भमें कौरवोंके दलमें बड़ा भयंकर कोलाहल होने लगा। वे आपसमें कहने लगे--“आज अर्जुनने रणक्षेत्रमें दस हजार रथियोंका विनाश करके सात सौ हाथी मार डाले हैं। प्राच्य, सौवीर, क्षुद्रक और मालव सभी क्षत्रियगणोंको मार गिराया है। धनंजयने जो महान् पराक्रम किया है, उसे दूसरा कोई वीर नहीं कर सकता' ।। १३४-१३५ - श्रुतायुरम्बष्ठपतिश्न राजा तथैव दुर्मर्षणचित्रसेनौ
sañjaya uvāca | mahat kṛtaṃ karma dhanañjayena kartuṃ yathā nāhati kaścid anyaḥ |
Sanjaya said: “A mighty deed has been accomplished by Dhananjaya (Arjuna)—such as no other man is capable of performing. At the onset of night, a dreadful uproar arose in the Kaurava ranks. They spoke among themselves: ‘Today Arjuna has destroyed ten thousand chariot-warriors on the battlefield and has slain seven hundred elephants. He has struck down the Kshatriyas of the Prācyas, Souvīras, Kṣudrakas, and Mālavas. The great valor Dhananjaya has displayed cannot be matched by any other hero.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the extraordinary capacity of a single disciplined warrior to alter the morale and fate of an army. Ethically, it reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between admiration for valor (kshatriya-dharma) and the sobering scale of destruction that such valor can produce.
Sanjaya reports that, as night begins, panic and loud commotion spread through the Kaurava ranks. Soldiers recount Arjuna’s battlefield success—massive losses of chariot-warriors and elephants and the defeat of several allied groups—concluding that no other hero could match such prowess.