Shloka 33
आपके महामनस्वी पुत्रका वह पराक्रम देखकर रणभूमिमें सब योद्धा विस्मित हो गये तथा आकाशमें सिद्धों और अप्सराओंके समूह भी आश्वर्य करने लगे ।। धृष्टद्युम्नं न पश्याम घटमानं महाबलम् | दुःशासनेन संरुद्ध सिंहेनेव महागजम्,जैसे सिंह किसी महान् गजराजको काबूमें कर ले, उसी प्रकार दुःशासनसे अवरुद्ध हो यथाशक्ति छूटनेकी चेष्टा करनेवाले महाबली धृष्टद्युम्नको हम देख नहीं पाते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
āpake mahāmanasvī putrasya taṁ parākramaṁ dṛṣṭvā raṇabhūmau sarve yoddhā vismitā abhavan tathā ākāśe siddhānām apsarasāṁ ca gaṇā api āścaryaṁ cakruḥ ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṁ na paśyāma ghaṭamānaṁ mahābalam |
duḥśāsanena saṁruddhaṁ siṁheneva mahāgajam ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Nang makita ang gawang-kabayanihan ng iyong anak na marangal ang diwa, namangha ang lahat ng mandirigma sa larangan; maging sa himpapawid, ang mga pangkat ng Siddha at Apsarā ay napamangha rin. Hindi na namin makita si Dhṛṣṭadyumna, ang makapangyarihan, na nagsisikap na makawala sa abot ng kanyang lakas, sapagkat siya’y napalibutan ni Duḥśāsana—gaya ng leon na sumasakmal sa isang dambuhalang elepante.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force and tactical restraint can suddenly reverse visibility and agency in war: even a renowned commander may be rendered ineffective when decisively contained. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between admiration for prowess and the sobering reality that battlefield success is often a matter of momentary advantage rather than lasting righteousness.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava side is astonished by the valor displayed by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, and that celestial beings also marvel. In the immediate combat scene, Dhṛṣṭadyumna is so tightly checked by Duḥśāsana that he is no longer seen clearly, compared to a lion subduing a great elephant.