Shloka 83
Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः
अपि सर्वेषु लोकेषु सेन्द्ररुद्रेषु मारिष । आर्य! इन्द्रलोक एवं रुद्रलोकसहित सम्पूर्ण लोकोंमें भगदेवताके नेत्रोंका नाश करनेवाले विकराल नेत्रोंवाले भगवान् रुद्रको छोड़कर दूसरे किसीको मैं ऐसा नहीं देखता, जो संग्राममें बलपूर्वक पार्थको परास्त कर सके,श्रुतं कर्म महत् कृत्वा निवृत्तेन किरीटिना । जात: पुत्रस्तथेत्येवं श्रुतकर्मा ततो&भवत् किरीटधारी अर्जुनने महान् एवं विख्यात कर्म करनेके पश्चात् लौटकर द्रौपदीसे पुत्र उत्पन्न किया था, इसलिये उनके पुत्रका नाम श्रुतकर्मा हुआ
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
api sarveṣu lokeṣu sendrarudreṣu māriṣa |
ārya! indraloka evaṁ rudralokasahita-sampūrṇa-lokeṣu bhagadevatāyā netrāṇāṁ nāśaṁ karoti yaḥ vikarāla-netro bhagavān rudraṁ vihāya dvitīyaṁ kaṁcid ahaṁ na paśyāmi, yo saṅgrāme balapūrvakaṁ pārthaṁ parājetuṁ śaknoti |
śrutaṁ karma mahat kṛtvā nivṛttena kirīṭinā |
jātaḥ putras tathā ity evaṁ śrutakarmā tato 'bhavat |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O noble one, even among all the worlds—those of Indra and Rudra included—I see no one who could forcibly defeat Pārtha (Arjuna) in battle, except the awe-inspiring Lord Rudra, the terrible-eyed destroyer of Bhaga’s eyes. After the diadem-wearing Arjuna had performed a great and renowned deed and then returned, a son was born to him from Draupadī; therefore that son came to be known as Śrutakarmā (‘he whose deed was heard of’).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates Arjuna’s martial excellence while still placing it beneath the supreme, fearsome power of Rudra. Ethically, it frames human heroism as extraordinary yet ultimately limited in comparison to divine agency, and it links lasting fame to righteous, renowned action (kīrti) that becomes ‘heard of’ and remembered.
Vaiśampāyana praises Arjuna as effectively unbeatable by any being across the worlds, except Rudra. He then explains the origin of the name Śrutakarmā: after Arjuna returned from performing a great, widely spoken-of deed, a son was born to him from Draupadī, and the child was named for that celebrated deed.