अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम्। पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम्॥
aparyāptaṃ tad asmākaṃ balaṃ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam / paryāptaṃ tv idam eteṣāṃ balaṃ bhīmābhirakṣitam
A famously ambiguous verse: Duryodhana either boasts of limitless strength or admits hidden doubt.
Word by word (7)
- aparyāptam
- — unlimited / immeasurable · Grammatical debate: 'aparyāpta' can mean 'insufficient' (limited) or 'inexhaustible' (unlimited). Most commentators read it as 'immeasurable/limitless' here — Duryodhana is saying OUR side is unlimited in strength.
- tat asmākam balam
- — that strength of ours
- bhīṣma-abhirakṣitam
- — guarded/protected by Bhishma
- paryāptam
- — limited / sufficient (more manageable)
- tu
- — but
- idam eteṣām balam
- — this strength of theirs
- bhīma-abhirakṣitam
- — protected by Bhima
Duryodhana says: 'Our army, protected by Bhishma, is immeasurable — unlimited in strength. But their army, protected by Bhima, is limited and manageable.' (Or — depending on the reading — 'Our army, under Bhishma, is insufficient; their army, under Bhima, is quite sufficient.' Translators have long debated which he meant.)
A modern analogy
An executive in a strategy session says: 'Our resources are immense' — but you can hear the slight hesitation in the delivery. Sometimes what sounds like confidence is actually a person trying to convince themselves. Language that asserts greatness when doubt exists often has this double quality.
What it does NOT mean
This verse is genuinely ambiguous in Sanskrit — 'aparyāpta' can mean either 'unlimited' or 'not enough.' Both readings are supported by commentators. If he means 'unlimited' — he's boasting. If he means 'not enough' — he's expressing a suppressed fear. Both readings reveal something true about Duryodhana.
Take with you
- Even confident-sounding words can conceal doubt — pay attention to why someone needs to assert strength out loud.
- In any assessment, the way you frame your resources reveals your actual feelings about them.
- The ambiguity in this verse has made it one of the most discussed in Gita scholarship — language that contains two truths simultaneously is worth sitting with.
This verse has generated centuries of commentary debate around a single Sanskrit prefix: 'a-' in 'aparyāpta.' Does it negate ('insufficient') or intensify ('inexhaustible/immeasurable')? Shankaracharya takes it to mean immeasurable (our strength is limitless). Madhvacharya reads it as insufficient — Duryodhana is privately admitting doubt. Swarupananda also takes it as insufficient. Both readings reveal something psychologically true about Duryodhana. If he is boasting — then this verse is the boast of a man who needs to hear himself assert strength. If he is confessing — then even in the first moments of the battle he knows, on some level, that his cause cannot ultimately prevail. The Mahabharata consistently portrays Duryodhana as a man who sees the truth and cannot act on it — he is not ignorant of dharma, he simply cannot overcome his desire for the kingdom. This verse may be a window into that interior split.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya reads 'aparyāpta' as 'unlimited' — the army is immeasurable. From his perspective, this is Duryodhana's last moment of ego-driven assertion before the crisis of Arjuna's grief forces a different kind of reckoning. The ego always asserts its boundlessness even as events conspire to reveal its limits.
Modern parallels
The psychological phenomenon of 'overconfidence bias' — the tendency to overestimate one's own capabilities — is one of the most robust findings in behavioral economics. Studies show that overconfidence is highest before high-stakes events and in domains where the person has the most to lose. Duryodhana's ambiguous assertion may be a portrait of exactly this — confidence as a defense mechanism against acknowledged vulnerability.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Our army which is guarded by Bhishma is immeasurable; whereas their army which is guarded by Bhima is measurable and limited. [1]
This army of ours marshalled by Bhishma is insufficient, while that army of theirs, marshalled by Bhima, is sufficient. [4]
This force of ours, defended by Bhishma, is unlimited; while that force of theirs, defended by Bhima, is limited. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
Six āsurī qualities: dambha, darpa, abhimāna, krodha, pāruṣya, ajñāna — all rooted in ego-assertion and ignorance.
'I slew that enemy; I'll slay others. I am Lord, Enjoyer, Perfect, Powerful, Happy' — the ego-apotheosis of the āsurī.
Tāmasic tapas: done with foolish delusion, self-torture, or to destroy another — declared tāmasic.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.