स शिल्पं प्राप्य तत् सर्वं सविशेषं च संजय ॥
शूरः शारद्वतीपुत्रः संख्ये द्रोणाद् अनन्तरः ॥
रामस्यानुमतः शास्त्रे पुरंदरसमो युधि ॥
कार्तवीर्यसमो वीर्ये बृहस्पतिसमो मतौ ॥
महीधरसमो धृत्या तेजसाग्निसमो युवा ॥
समुद्र इव गाम्भीर्ये क्रोधे सर्पविषोपमः ॥
sa śilpaṃ prāpya tat sarvaṃ saviśeṣaṃ ca saṃjaya ||
śūraḥ śāradvatīputraḥ saṃkhye droṇād anantaraḥ ||
rāmasyānumataḥ śāstre puraṃdarasamo yudhi ||
kārtavīryasamo vīrye bṛhaspatisamo matau ||
mahīdharasamo dhṛtyā tejasāgnisamo yuvā ||
samudra iva gāmbhīrye krodhe sarpaviṣopamaḥ ||
He, having obtained all that skill, and the special art besides, O Sanjaya — the hero, son of Sharadvati [Kripi], next after Drona in battle. Approved by Rama in the science, equal to Purandara [Indra] in battle, equal to Kartavirya in valor, equal to Brihaspati in intellect, equal to a mountain in steadfastness, equal to fire in splendor, young, like the ocean in depth, in wrath like serpent's venom.
5558d2f9ccd4 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra piles up comparisons — Indra, Kartavirya, Brihaspati, mountain, fire, ocean — painting Ashvatthaman as the sum of every perfection. The final comparison is telling: "in wrath like serpent's venom" — behind the brilliance of virtues lurks a deadly irascibility. The verse teaches that the greatest gifts, without a governed temper, threaten disaster; and this catalogue of virtues, closed by the image of venom, is itself a warning: what enthralls in stillness can appall in wrath.