Mahabharata 7.183.19 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 183, Shloka 19
एकलव्यं हि साड्गुष्ठमशक्ता देवदानवा: । सराक्षसोरगा: पार्थ विजेतुं युधि करहिचित्
ekalavyaṃ hi sāḍguṣṭham aśaktā devadānavāḥ | sarākṣasoragāḥ pārtha vijetuṃ yudhi karhicit, kuntīkumāra! yadi ekalavyakā aṅguṣṭhaḥ surakṣitaḥ hotā to devatā, dānava, rākṣasa aura nāga—ye sab milakara bhī yuddha meṃ use kabhī parājita nahīṃ kara sakate the |
వాయువు పలికెను— ఓ పార్థా, కుంతీపుత్రా! ఏకలవ్యుని బొటనవేలు క్షేమంగా ఉండి యెడల, దేవులు-దానవులు, రాక్షసులు మరియు నాగులు—ఇవన్నీ కలిసికూడా యుద్ధంలో అతనిని ఎప్పుడూ జయించలేరు.
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary capability can be curtailed by a single imposed limitation, and it invites reflection on the ethics of restricting talent for the sake of maintaining an established order—especially in the context of war where such choices reshape destiny.
Vāyu addresses Arjuna, asserting that Ekalavya would have been unconquerable in battle—even by combined divine and demonic forces—if his thumb had not been taken, implicitly recalling the earlier episode where Ekalavya’s thumb was demanded as guru-dakṣiṇā.
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