Shloka 11
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 58 — Saṃjaya’s Audience and Kṛṣṇa’s Deterrent Counsel (संजय-प्रवेशः कृष्णवाक्यं च)
इन्द्रविष्णुसमावेतौ मन्दात्मा नावबुद्धयते । संश्रयाद् द्रोणभीष्मा भ्यां कर्णस्य च विकत्थनात्,मैंने सोचा, इन्द्र और विष्णुके समान अचिन्त्य शक्तिशाली इन दोनों वीरोंको मन्दबुद्धि दुर्योधन नहीं समझ पाता है। वह द्रोणाचार्य और भीष्मका भरोसा करके तथा कर्णकी डींगभरी बातें सुनकर मोहित हो रहा है
sañjaya uvāca | indraviṣṇusamāvetau mandātmā nāvabuddhyate | saṃśrayād droṇabhīṣmābhyāṃ karṇasya ca vikatthanāt ||
Sañjaya berkata: Duryodhana yang tumpul akal tidak benar-benar memahami dua pahlawan itu, yang bersatu dengan kekuatan laksana Indra dan Viṣṇu. Bersandar pada Droṇa dan Bhīṣma, serta mabuk oleh kata-kata megah Karṇa, dia tetap terpedaya—tersalah menilai imbangan kekuatan yang sebenar dan beratnya dharma dalam perang yang bakal menjelang.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moral and strategic blindness arises from arrogance and misplaced reliance: Duryodhana, swayed by the prestige of elders and the boasts of allies, fails to recognize the true (almost divine) prowess of the opposing heroes and the ethical consequences of provoking war.
Sañjaya comments on Duryodhana’s state of mind during the pre-war deliberations: he is overconfident because he leans on Droṇa and Bhīṣma and is encouraged by Karṇa’s bravado, and therefore he cannot properly assess the extraordinary strength of the two principal opponents being compared to Indra and Viṣṇu.