Shloka 17
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
देवदानवगन्धर्वमनुष्यपतगोरगा: । न समा मम वीर्यस्य शतांशेनापि पिण्डिता:,“ब्रह्मन! देवता, दानव, गन्धर्व, मनुष्य, पक्षी और नाग--ये सब मिलकर मेरे पराक्रमके सौवें अंशकी भी समानता नहीं कर सकते
devadānavagandharvamanuṣyapatagoragāḥ | na samā mama vīryasya śatāṃśenāpi piṇḍitāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Brahmin, even if the gods, demons, Gandharvas, human beings, birds, and serpents were all gathered together as one, they would still not equal even a hundredth part of my prowess.” The utterance conveys a warrior’s boastful self-assessment, heightening the moral tension of the episode by contrasting inflated pride with the catastrophic consequences unfolding in the Sauptika narrative.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds hubris: a warrior’s claim of unmatched power, even against all classes of beings combined. In the Sauptika context, such self-exaltation intensifies the ethical warning that pride and unrestrained martial confidence can accompany, justify, or precipitate grievous wrongdoing.
In the Sauptika Parva setting, a speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) voices an extreme boast, declaring that even the combined might of gods, demons, Gandharvas, humans, birds, and serpents cannot equal a hundredth of his strength. The statement functions to characterize the speaker’s mindset and to raise the dramatic stakes amid the night-raid aftermath.