Shloka 15
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय संवादः — उपप्लव्यगमनाज्ञा
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Command to Proceed to Upaplavya
सुशिक्षित:ः कृतवैरस्तरस्वी दहेत् क्षुद्रांस्तरसा धार्तराष्ट्रान् । सदात्यमर्षी न बलात् स शक््यो युद्धे जेतुं वासवेनापि साक्षात्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: suśikṣitaḥ kṛtavairas tarasvī dahet kṣudrāṁs tarasā dhārtarāṣṭrān | sadātyamarṣī na balāt sa śakyo yuddhe jetuṁ vāsavenāpi sākṣāt || kaccid rājā brāhmaṇānāṁ yathāvat pravartate pūrvavat tāta vṛttim | kaccid dāyān māmakān dhārtarāṣṭro dvijātīnāṁ sañjaya nopahanti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Well-trained, swift, and with enmity firmly set, he would in an instant burn up the petty-minded sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Ever seething with fierce indignation, he cannot be conquered in battle by sheer force—not even by Indra himself in person. Tell me, dear one: does King Duryodhana still, as before, duly maintain the livelihood of the Brāhmaṇas? Sañjaya, does that Dhārtarāṣṭra refrain from harming the endowments I granted—villages and the like—meant as sustenance for the twice-born?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power in war is not merely physical; unchecked indignation (amarṣa) can make a warrior terrifyingly unstoppable, yet the passage pivots to dharma: a king’s legitimacy is tested by whether he protects Brāhmaṇas and honors established endowments rather than seizing them.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war tensions, the speaker underscores Bhīma’s formidable might against the Kauravas, then turns to a practical moral inquiry addressed to Sañjaya: whether Duryodhana is maintaining Brāhmaṇas properly and not confiscating the livelihood-grants previously assigned to them.