Mahabharata 7.196.8 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 196, Shloka 8
रामस्य तु सम: शस्त्रे पुरंदरसमो युधि । कार्तवीर्यसमो वीर्ये बृहस्पतिसमो मतौ
rāmasya tu samaḥ śastre purandarasamo yudhi | kārtavīryasamo vīrye bṛhaspatisamo matau ||
ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അശ്വത്ഥാമാവ് ആയുധവിദ്യയിൽ പരശുരാമനോടു തുല്യൻ; യുദ്ധത്തിൽ പുരന്ദരൻ (ഇന്ദ്രൻ) തുല്യൻ; ബല-വീര്യത്തിൽ കാർത്തവീര്യനോടു തുല്യൻ; ബുദ്ധിയിൽ ബൃഹസ്പതിയോടു തുല്യൻ.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that extraordinary skill and strength are morally weighty: when a warrior’s power approaches the archetypal standards of gods and legendary heroes, the consequences of how that power is used become correspondingly grave—especially in a dharma-fractured war.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra is hearing about the battlefield situation and describes Aśvatthāmā’s formidable qualities through a chain of exalted comparisons (Paraśurāma, Indra, Kārtavīrya, Bṛhaspati), emphasizing why he is a decisive and fearsome figure in the Drona Parva conflict.
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