Shloka 11
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
निहत्य नागं तु शरेण तेन वज्रोपमेनाद्रिवराम्बुदा भम् । तथाविधेनैव शरेण पार्थो दुर्योधनं वक्षसि निर्बिभेद
nihatya nāgaṃ tu śareṇa tena vajropamenādrivarāmbudābham | tathāvidhenaiva śareṇa pārtho duryodhanaṃ vakṣasi nirbibheda ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nachdem er den großen Elefanten mit jenem Pfeil erschlagen hatte—hart wie der Vajra und einem Berg und einer dichtgedrängten Regenwolke gleich—durchbohrte Pārtha (Arjuna) mit einem weiteren Pfeil derselben Art Duryodhana in der Brust. Die Szene betont den unerbittlichen Schwung der Schlacht: Können und Entschlossenheit treiben das Geschehen, während die ethische Spannung der Gewalt und ihrer Folgen unter der heroischen Erzählung nur mitklingt.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the force and inevitability of martial action once battle is joined: skill and resolve can be decisive, yet the narration also invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the chain of consequences it sets in motion.
After killing a powerful elephant with a thunderbolt-like arrow, Arjuna (Pārtha) immediately follows with a similar arrow and strikes Duryodhana, piercing him in the chest, as described by the narrator Vaiśampāyana.