Shloka 13
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 165 — Bhīṣma’s Appraisal and Karṇa’s Rebuttal (भीष्म–कर्ण विवादः)
ते हनिष्यन्ति पार्थानां तानासाद्य महारथान् । वरान् वरान् महेष्वासान् क्षत्रियाणां धुरन्धरान्
te haniṣyanti pārthānāṃ tān āsādya mahārathān | varān varān maheṣvāsān kṣatriyāṇāṃ dhurandharān ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kapag nilapitan nila ang mga dakilang mandirigmang nakasakay sa karwahe ng mga anak ni Pṛthā, kanilang pababagsakin—ang mga pangunahing bayani, ang mga makapangyarihang mamamana, ang mga tagapasan at tagapagtaguyod ng uring kṣatriya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grave moral weight of war: when conflict escalates, even the foremost kṣatriya leaders—those meant to uphold order—become targets, and the destruction of a society’s pillars becomes a foreseeable consequence of choosing battle over reconciliation.
Bhīṣma is describing an impending confrontation in which opposing warriors will close in upon the Pāṇḍavas’ great chariot-fighters and slay them—highlighting the caliber of those involved and the catastrophic scale of the coming war.