Shloka 183
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
उपासितं यथास्माभिरबलं गाण्डीवधन्चन: । “धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंने सदा उन्हींके बाहुबलका भरोसा कर रखा था, जैसे कि हमलोगोंने गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके बलका आश्रय लिया था
upāsitaṃ yathāsmābhir abalaṃ gāṇḍīvadhanvanaḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Just as we relied upon the might of Arjuna, the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva, so too did Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons continually place their trust in the strength of their own arms.” The line underscores how dependence on sheer force—rather than on dharma and wise counsel—shapes choices and leads to ruin in the aftermath of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral danger of grounding one’s decisions in mere physical power. Trust in “arm-strength” without dharmic restraint and sound counsel becomes a cause of arrogance, escalation, and ultimately destruction.
In the Stree Parva’s post-battle setting, Vaiśaṃpāyana comments on the mindset that drove the Kauravas: they repeatedly depended on martial might, just as the Pāṇḍavas depended on Arjuna’s prowess—framing how reliance on power shaped the war’s course and its tragic aftermath.