Mahabharata 3.37.5 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 37, Shloka 5
Vyāsa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: Pratismṛti-vidyā, Arjuna’s Aśtra-Quest, and the Move to Kāmyaka
दैवं बाह्यें मानुषं च सयत्नं सचिकित्सितम् । सर्वस्त्राणां प्रयोगं च अभिजानन्ति कृत्स्नश:
daivaṃ bāhye mānuṣaṃ ca sayatnaṃ sacikitsitam | sarvāstrāṇāṃ prayogaṃ ca abhijānanti kṛtsnaśaḥ ||
युधिष्ठिर उवाच—दैवं बाह्यं मानुषं च सयत्नं सचिकित्सितम् । सर्वास्त्राणां प्रयोगं चाभिजानन्ति कृत्स्नशः ॥ तेऽस्त्रग्रहणधारणयोः प्रयत्नं विदन्त्येव, शत्रुप्रयुक्तानामस्त्राणां चिकित्सां च—निवारणोपायान्—सम्यग् विजानन्ति ॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mastery is not merely offensive skill: true competence includes disciplined practice, correct handling, and ethical responsibility to protect—especially through knowing how to neutralize harm (the ‘cikitsā’ of weapons) rather than only inflict it.
Yudhiṣṭhira is describing the comprehensive martial expertise of certain warriors: they know every category of weapon-power (divine, external, and human), how to wield and bear arms through effort, and how to counter enemy weapons through appropriate defensive measures.
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