Chapter 1, Verse 10
अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम्। पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम्।।
aparyāptaṁ tad asmākaṁ balaṁ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam paryāptaṁ tv idam eteṣāṁ balaṁ bhīmābhirakṣitam
Meaning
Our army, protected by Bhishma, is unlimited; whereas their army, protected by Bhima, is limited.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Scholars note an alternative reading of this verse: 'aparyāptam' can mean either 'immeasurable/unlimited' or 'insufficient,' creating an interpretive tension. If Duryodhana means their side is unlimited and the Pandavas limited, it is a boast. If he unconsciously says their force is insufficient despite Bhishma's protection, it reveals a deeper fear. Both readings co-exist as a commentary on how anxiety and bravado intermingle in the same utterance.
Bhishma as commander of the Kauravas and Bhima as the chief fighting force of the Pandavas are being directly compared. Yet the comparison already contains its own irony — Bhishma, despite his invincibility, has already promised Yudhishthira that he will not kill any Pandava, and Bhima has sworn an oath to kill Duryodhana. The personal entanglements make any simple military calculus unreliable.
For us, this verse is a meditation on how we assess strength and limitation. Our greatest strength may hide within it a constraint we haven't acknowledged, and what seems limited may contain a concentrated power we have underestimated. Honest self-assessment requires sitting with ambiguity.
💡 Key Takeaway
Honest strength assessment holds ambiguity — what looks unlimited may have a hidden weakness, and what looks limited may hold concentrated power.
Related Verses
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच | धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः | मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥१॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ | māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya ||1||
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?
सञ्जय उवाच दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा। आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्।।
sañjaya uvāca dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt
Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle formation, King Duryodhana then approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम्। व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता।।
paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrāṇām ācārya mahatīṁ camūm vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā
O teacher, behold this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, so skilfully arrayed by the son of Drupada — your own talented student.