Shloka 70
Kṛṣṇa-vīrya-kathana
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s appraisal of Vāsudeva’s deeds
तस्य नप्तारमायान्तं शैब्यं क: समवारयत् | द्रोणायाभिमुखं यत्तं व्यात्ताननमिवान्तकम्,उन्हीं उशीनरका पौत्र शैब्य सावधान हो जब द्रोणाचार्यके सम्मुख आ रहा था, उस समय मुँह फैलाये हुए कालके समान उस वीरको किसने रोका?
tasya naptāram āyāntaṃ śaibyaṃ kaḥ samavārayat | droṇāyābhimukhaṃ yattaṃ vyāttānanaṃ ivāntakam |
वैशम्पायन उवाच— उशीनरस्य नप्तारं शैब्यं द्रोणायाभिमुखं समायान्तं व्यात्ताननमिवान्तकं कः समवारयत्?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key battlefield ethic: even when a warrior charges with death-like ferocity, the moral order of combat involves counter-action that restrains excess. It frames war not as unbounded violence but as a contest governed by opposing duties, skill, and checks that prevent a single fury from becoming indiscriminate destruction.
Vaiśampāyana describes Śaibya, identified as Uśīnara’s grandson, rushing directly at Droṇa with terrifying intensity, compared to Death with a gaping mouth. The narrator then poses a suspenseful question—who stopped him?—setting up the next detail about the warrior who intercepts or restrains Śaibya.