Shloka 16
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
शार्ज़्गाण्डीवधन्चानौ सहितावपराजितौ । अहं दिव्याद् रथादेक: पातयिष्यामि संयुगे
śārṅga-gāṇḍīva-dhanū cānau sahitāv aparājitau | ahaṃ divyād rathād ekaḥ pātayiṣyāmi saṃyuge ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Dua wira yang tidak pernah ditaklukkan itu—Kṛṣṇa yang memegang busur Śārṅga dan Arjuna yang memegang Gāṇḍīva—aku seorang diri akan menumbangkan mereka di medan perang, mencampakkan mereka dari kereta ilahi mereka.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of overconfidence and delusion in war: boasting against the protectors of dharma (Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna) reflects ambition-driven blindness, which in the Mahābhārata repeatedly leads to ruin rather than true heroism.
The narrator reports a warrior’s claim—made to encourage Duryodhana—that he will single-handedly topple Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna together from their divine chariot, despite their reputation as unconquered and supremely armed with Śārṅga and Gāṇḍīva.