अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
ईदगूपमहं मन्ये पार्थस्य युधि विग्रहम् । न हि शक्योडर्जुनो जेतु युधि सेन््द्रे: सुरासुरै:
īdṛgūpam ahaṃ manye pārthasya yudhi vigraham | na hi śakyo 'rjuno jetuṃ yudhi sendraiḥ surāsuraiḥ ||
Śalya disse: “Assim, de fato, é a forma do poder de Pārtha (Arjuna) que eu percebo na batalha. No campo de guerra, Arjuna não pode ser vencido—nem mesmo pelos deuses e pelos asuras juntos, com o próprio Indra à frente.”
शल्य उवाच
The verse underscores the extraordinary, near-divine stature of a dharmic hero in war: Arjuna’s prowess is portrayed as beyond ordinary opposition, suggesting that moral resolve, rightful cause, and divinely sanctioned skill can make a warrior seem ‘unconquerable’ even against cosmic forces.
Śalya, speaking in the Karṇa Parva context, assesses Arjuna’s battlefield power and declares that Arjuna cannot be defeated even by the combined might of gods and asuras led by Indra—an emphatic statement that heightens the sense of Arjuna’s dominance and the looming difficulty for his opponents.