Shloka 54
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
बलाहकादुच्चरत: सुभीमान् विद्युत्स्फुलिड्रानिव घोररूपान् | सहस्रध्नान् द्विषतां सड़रेषु अस्थिच्छिदो मर्मभिद: सुपुड्खान्
balāhakād uccarataḥ subhīmān vidyut-sphuliṅgān iva ghora-rūpān | sahasra-ghnān dviṣatāṁ śarāṇeṣu asthi-cchido marma-bhidaḥ su-puṅkhān ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “Mula sa Gāṇḍīva ay lilipad ang mga palaso—nakapanghihilakbot pagmasdan—na tila mga sindi ng kidlat na sumisiklab mula sa ulap ng bagyo. May magagandang balahibo at matutulis na dulo, puputulin nila ang mga buto at tatarak sa mahahalagang bahagi; sa hanay ng kaaway, sila’y magiging mamamatay ng libu-libo. Kapag nasaksihan ni Duryodhana, anak ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ang pagwasak na ito sa larangan, mapait niyang pagsisisihan ang kamangmangang nag-udyok sa digmaang ito.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral consequence of adharma-driven choices: initiating an unjust war out of pride and greed leads not to glory but to catastrophic suffering and inevitable remorse when the reality of violence becomes undeniable.
Sañjaya vividly foretells the battlefield outcome: Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva will unleash fearsome, well-feathered arrows likened to lightning-sparks from a storm cloud, slaughtering enemy ranks by cutting bones and piercing vital points; seeing this, Duryodhana will repent having set the war in motion.