Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 66
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
गदामुसलनाराचशक्तितोमरहस्तया । दृप्तसिंहनिनादिन्या विनद्य प्रययौ गृह:
gadāmusalanārācaśaktitomarahastayā | dṛptasiṃhaninādinīyā vinadya prayayau gṛhaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: With hands bearing a mace, a pestle, iron arrows, a spear, and a javelin, and roaring with the proud cry of a lion, he set out and went home. The verse underscores the warrior’s fierce resolve and the ominous normalizing of violence—how instruments of war accompany even ordinary movement, reflecting the moral weight of a society consumed by conflict.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a warrior’s identity can become inseparable from weapons and aggression; it invites reflection on the ethical cost of war—when the tools and mindset of violence accompany even routine acts, society’s moral balance is already strained.
The narrator describes a warrior (unnamed in this line) departing with multiple weapons in hand, roaring like a proud lion, and going home—marking a transition in the action while emphasizing martial ferocity and readiness.