Shloka 12
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
एतेन किल पार्थस्य युद्धमासीत् सुदारुणम् । रोमहर्षणमत्युग्रं शक्रस्य त्वहिना यथा,जैसे वृत्रासुरके साथ इन्द्रका अत्यन्त भयंकर संग्राम हुआ था, उसी प्रकार इन भगदत्तके साथ कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनका अत्यन्त दारुण एवं रोमांचकारी युद्ध हुआ था
etena kila pārthasya yuddham āsīt sudāruṇam | romaharṣaṇam atyugraṁ śakrasya tv ahinā yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Indeed, with this man, Pārtha’s battle was exceedingly dreadful—hair-raising and fiercely intense—just as Indra’s most terrible combat once was with the serpent-like foe (Vṛtra).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how epic narration uses mythic comparison to convey the moral gravity and terrifying intensity of war: even the greatest heroes face battles that test courage and endurance, reminding the listener that violence, though sometimes framed as kṣatriya duty, is inherently dreadful.
Vaiśampāyana describes Arjuna’s combat with a formidable opponent as extraordinarily fierce and hair-raising, likening it to Indra’s legendary struggle with the serpent-like adversary Vṛtra, thereby elevating the battle’s scale and danger.