Shloka 3
त॑ यान्तमश्वैर्हिमशड्खवर्ण: सुवर्णमुक्तामणिजालनद्धैः । जम्भं जिघांसुं प्रगृहीतवज्॑ जयाय देवेन्द्रमिवोग्रमन्युम्
taṁ yāntam aśvair himaśaṅkhavarṇaḥ suvarṇamuktāmaṇijālanaddhaiḥ | jambhaṁ jighāṁsuṁ pragṛhītavajraṁ jayāya devendram ivogramanyum ||
Sañjaya said: As Arjuna advanced, his chariot was drawn by horses white as snow and conch-shell, their harness bound with a net of gold, pearls, and gems. He looked like Devendra Indra—vajra in hand—moving to slay Jambha. So too did Arjuna, intent on victory over his foes, proceed with fierce and terrible wrath.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames martial fury as ethically acceptable only when subordinated to a rightful end (jayāya—victory in a just cause) and expressed as disciplined kṣatriya resolve, not as private vengeance. By likening Arjuna to Indra acting against an asura, it suggests that force, when aligned with dharma, can be a protective duty rather than mere violence.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna advancing in battle on a splendid chariot-team: white horses with jewel-netted harness. Arjuna’s mood is fierce and determined, and the poet heightens the scene by comparing him to Indra striding forth with the vajra to kill the demon Jambha.