Shloka 34
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
यदुसदनमुपेन्द्रपालितं त्रिदशमिवामरराजरक्षितम् | प्रसभमतिविलोड््य को हरेत् पुरुषवरावरजामृते<र्जुनात्
yadu-sadanam upendra-pālitaṁ tridaśam ivāmara-rāja-rakṣitam | prasabham ati-viloḍya ko haret puruṣa-vara-avarajām ṛte 'rjunāt ||
舍利耶说道：“除阿周那——人中最胜者之弟——外，谁能强行攻入并彻底劫掠由都族的坚城？那城由优宾陀罗（毗湿奴）亲自守护，又在天帝的看护下如同天界一般难以侵犯。”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores discernment in judging capability: truly extraordinary achievements require extraordinary agents. By likening the Yadu stronghold to heaven under divine protection, Śalya highlights that only a uniquely empowered hero (Arjuna) could accomplish such a breach—implying humility before proven excellence and the limits of ordinary force.
Śalya, speaking in the Karṇa Parva context, emphasizes Arjuna’s exceptional prowess by posing a rhetorical question: who else could violently penetrate and plunder the Yādava seat, a place imagined as divinely guarded by Upendra and as secure as Indra’s heaven? The statement functions as pointed praise and as a strategic reminder of Arjuna’s unmatched strength.