Shloka 4
Bhīṣma’s Stuti of Keśava and Counsel on Nara–Nārāyaṇa (भीष्म-स्तवः; नरनारायण-प्रसङ्गः)
तस्मिन्ननीकप्रमुखे विषक्ता दोधूयमानाश्न महापताका: । सुरक्तपीतासितपाण्डुराभा महागजस्कन्धगता विरेजु:
sañjaya uvāca | tasminn anīka-pramukhe viṣaktā dodhūyamānāś ca mahā-patākāḥ | su-rakta-pītāsita-pāṇḍurābhā mahā-gaja-skandha-gatā virejuḥ | tam ātmajaṃ yuddhe vikramantam ariṃdamam dṛṣṭvā pārthaḥ su-saṃyattaṃ siṃha-nādam athānadata |
Sañjaya sprach: Im vordersten Teil jener Schlachtordnung glänzten große Banner — fest angebracht und doch im Schütteln weithin flatternd. Sie leuchteten in kräftigem Rot, Gelb, Schwarz und blassem Weiß, auf die Schultern mächtiger Elefanten gesetzt. Da ließ Pārtha (Arjuna), als er seinen eigenen Sohn — den Feindbezwinger — sah, wie er mit disziplinierter Bereitschaft rang und Tapferkeit entfaltete, ein brüllendes Löwengeheul erschallen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the outward grandeur of war—standards, elephants, and roaring heroes—the episode highlights disciplined valor (su-saṃyatta) and the complex dharmic tension of fighting while bound by human relationships, here a father’s response to his son’s prowess.
Sañjaya describes the front of the army where huge, multicolored banners flutter atop elephants. Then Arjuna, seeing his son (understood as Abhimanyu in the given context) advancing bravely and in good order, responds with a lion-like roar to encourage and rally.