Shloka 16
धृष्टद्युम्न: शिखण्डी च सर्वे चापि प्रभद्रका: । विक्रमं मम पश्यन्तु धनुषश्चन महद् बलम्,इति सत्य ब्रवीम्येष दुर्योधन न संशय: । “मैं रणभूमिमें कुन्तीके सभी पुत्रों और सामने आये हुए सोमकोंपर भी विजय प्राप्त कर लूँगा। इसमें भी संदेह नहीं कि मैं तुम्हारा सेनापति होऊँगा और ऐसे व्यूहका निर्माण करूँगा, जिसे शत्रु लाँघ नहीं सकेंगे। दुर्योधन! यह मैं तुमसे सच्ची बात कहता हूँ। इसमें कोई संशय नहीं है”
dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca sarve cāpi prabhadrakāḥ | vikramaṃ mama paśyantu dhanuṣaś ca mahad balam iti satyaṃ bravīmy eṣa duryodhana na saṃśayaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “Let Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandin, and all the Prabhadrakas behold my prowess and the great strength of my bow. Duryodhana, I speak this to you as truth—there is no doubt.” The utterance conveys a warrior’s vow of dominance in battle, framed as a confident assurance to his king, and it highlights the ethical tension of martial pride and certainty amid a destructive war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the kṣatriya ideal of publicly declaring resolve and courage, while implicitly warning that certainty and martial pride can slide into hubris—an ethical tension repeatedly explored in the Mahābhārata’s war narrative.
Sanjaya reports a warrior’s confident declaration to Duryodhana: he claims that even prominent opponents like Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandin (and their allied Prabhadrakas) will witness his prowess and the power of his bow, and he asserts this as an unquestionable truth.