Shloka 42
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
एते चान्ये च बहव: कृतास्त्रा युद्धदुर्मदा: । राजानो राजतपूुत्रा श्न शूरा: परिघबाहव:
ete cānye ca bahavaḥ kṛtāstrā yuddha-durmadāḥ | rājāno rāja-putrāś ca śūrāḥ parigha-bāhavaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “And there are many others as well—kings and princes—fully trained in the use of weapons, intoxicated with the pride of battle, heroic men whose arms are like iron clubs.”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial skill and royal status can be accompanied by war-pride (durmada). It implicitly warns that prowess without restraint and ethical clarity can become a force of destruction, not protection—an important tension in kṣatriya-dharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra is describing the formidable composition of the warriors—many kings and princes, expert in weapons and eager for battle—emphasizing the scale and intensity of the conflict as Shalya Parva begins.