भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६२: वासुदेवमहात्म्यप्रशंसा (देव–ब्रह्मसंवादः)
चिक्षिपु: समरे क्रुद्धा: फाल्गुनस्य रथं प्रति । वे क्रोधमें भरकर युद्धमें अर्जुनके रथपर चमचमाती हुई शक्ति
cikṣipuḥ samare kruddhāḥ phālgunasya rathaṃ prati | na pāṇḍavān pratibalāṃs tava manye kathaṃcana | tathā droṇasya saṃgrāme drauṇeśveva kṛpasya ca ||
ते क्रोधाने पेटून रणात फाल्गुनाच्या (अर्जुनाच्या) रथावर अस्त्रे फेकू लागले. पण पांडव तुमच्याइतके बलवान आहेत असे मी कधीही मानत नाही—ना द्रोणासारखे, ना द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थाम्यासारखे, ना कृपासारखे.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how, in war, assessments of strength are shaped by allegiance and perspective: Sañjaya emphasizes the Kaurava champions’ might and doubts the Pāṇḍavas’ parity, illustrating the ethical tension between objective truth and partisan judgment in a dharma-conflicted battlefield.
Sañjaya reports that furious warriors are directing a heavy barrage at Arjuna’s chariot, then adds his opinion that the Pāṇḍavas are not equal in strength to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s leading fighters—Droṇa, Aśvatthāman, and Kṛpa—thereby framing the battle’s momentum for the blind king.