Shloka 40
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
यदा शिखण्डी रथिन: प्रचिन्वन् भीष्म रथेनाभियाता वरूथी । दिव्यैहयैरवमृद्नन् रथौघां- स्तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्,जब शिखण्डी अपने रथकी रक्षाके साधनोंसे सम्पन्न हो रथियोंको चुन-चुनकर मारता तथा दिव्य अश्वोंद्वारा रथसमूहोंको रौंदता हुआ रथारूढ़ हो भीष्मपर आक्रमण करेगा, उस समय दुर्योधनको युद्ध छिड़ जानेके कारण बड़ा पश्चात्ताप होगा
sañjaya uvāca | yadā śikhaṇḍī rathinaḥ pracinvan bhīṣma-rathenābhiyātā varūthī | divyair hayair avamṛdnan rathaughāṃs tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyat ||
Disse Sañjaya: Quando Śikhaṇḍī—bem protegido pelas defesas do seu carro—avançar contra Bhīṣma em seu carro de guerra, escolhendo e abatendo os mais destacados guerreiros de carro, e com cavalos divinos esmagando as massas de carros, então o filho de Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana) será tomado por um amargo remorso, assim que a guerra tiver realmente começado.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Once a war is unleashed, its momentum and moral cost often exceed the instigator’s control; the verse foreshadows remorse arising from seeing revered elders and vast forces crushed by the very conflict one chose to begin.
Sañjaya predicts a battlefield moment: Śikhaṇḍī, strongly protected and mounted on a chariot, advances against Bhīṣma, cutting down chosen chariot-warriors and trampling chariot formations with divine horses; this spectacle will later cause Duryodhana deep regret as the war’s reality unfolds.