Shloka 20
अध्याय ५०: उत्तरेण सह अर्जुनस्य रथप्रयाणे ध्वजचिह्नैः कौरवसेनानिर्देशः
Arjuna directs Uttara by identifying Kaurava commanders through banners
देवं दैवेन युध्येत मानुषेण च मानुषम् । अस्त्रं हास्त्रेण यो हन्यात् कोर््डर्जुनेन सम: पुमान्
devaṃ daivena yudhyeta mānuṣeṇa ca mānuṣam | astraṃ hāstreṇa yo hanyāt ko 'rjunena samaḥ pumān ||
Kṛpa berkata: “Biarlah dewa ditentang dengan cara-cara ilahi, dan manusia dengan cara-cara manusia. Siapakah manusia yang setara dengan Arjuna—dia yang mampu menangkis dan memusnahkan setiap senjata dengan senjata lawannya yang sepadan?”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse articulates a principle of appropriate and proportionate conduct in warfare: meet the divine with divine means and humans with human means, and it elevates Arjuna as the exemplar who can counter any weapon with its proper antidote—implying mastery governed by dharmic restraint and right method.
In Virāṭa Parva, Kṛpa is speaking in a context where Arjuna’s prowess is being assessed or recalled. He underscores Arjuna’s unmatched tactical and astric mastery—able to neutralize every weapon with a fitting counter-weapon—thereby arguing that no warrior can truly equal him.