Shloka 22
Bhīṣma’s Appraisal of Pāṇḍava-Alliance Warriors (Śikhaṇḍin, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and Allied Kings)
वज़ादीनि च मुख्यानि नानाप्रहरणानि च । दानवानां सहस्राणि हिरण्यपुरवासिनाम्
vajrādīni ca mukhyāni nānā-praharaṇāni ca | dānavānāṁ sahasrāṇi hiraṇyapuravāsinām ||
Bhishma sprach: „Dort waren erstrangige Waffen—allen voran der Donnerkeil (Vajra)—und viele andere Arten von Rüstzeug, die Tausenden von Dānavas gehörten, die in Hiraṇyapura wohnten.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immense scale and sophistication of martial power amassed by formidable beings; ethically, it hints that sheer weaponry and might are not themselves dharma, but instruments whose use must be governed by right conduct and wise restraint.
Bhīṣma is describing an array of powerful weapons—chief among them the vajra—associated with vast numbers of Dānavas residing in Hiraṇyapura, emphasizing the magnitude of the forces and resources involved.