Shloka 8
शक्तरस्त्वं हि रणे जेतुं ससुरासुरमानुषान् । त्रील्लॉकान् समरे युक्तान् कि पुन: कौरवं बलम्,“तुम तो युद्धके लिये तैयार होकर आये हुए देवता, असुर और मनुष्योंसहित तीनों लोकोंको समरभूमिमें जीत सकते हो, फिर कौरव-सेनाकी तो बात ही क्या है?
śaktarastvaṃ hi raṇe jetuṃ sasurāsuramānuṣān | trīl lokān samare yuktān ki punaḥ kauravaṃ balam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Sesungguhnya engkau mampu, apabila telah tegak di medan tempur, menakluk tiga alam bersama para dewa, asura dan manusia. Apatah lagi bala tentera Kaurava?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses hyperbolic praise to assert overwhelming martial capability: if one can conquer even the three worlds with gods, demons, and humans, then defeating a merely human army should be easier. Ethically, it highlights how confidence and rhetorical encouragement function in war narratives, sometimes inflating power beyond realistic limits.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, voices an emphatic assessment of a warrior’s battle-readiness, contrasting cosmic-scale conquest (triloka with suras/asuras/humans) with the comparatively limited Kaurava force, thereby intensifying the dramatic stakes of the ongoing conflict.