Shloka 4
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 55 — Sañjaya’s Report on Pāṇḍava Readiness and Arjuna’s Dhvaja
कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनने तो अस्त्रप्रयोगसम्बन्धी मन्त्रकी परीक्षाके लिये अपने दिव्य रथकी प्रभासे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको प्रकाशित करते हुए उसे जोत रखा था ।।
sañjaya uvāca | tam apaśyaṃ saṃnaddhaṃ meghaṃ vidyud-dyutaṃ yathā | samantāt samabhidhyāya hṛṣyamāṇo ’bhyabhāṣata ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing him—armoured and formidable, like a cloud lit by lightning—I contemplated him from every side and, filled with exhilaration, addressed him. The scene underscores the moral gravity of the impending war: admiration for martial splendour is tempered by the awareness that such power is being readied for a conflict that will test dharma and restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial power and splendour can inspire awe, yet it implicitly points to the ethical burden of using such power. In the Mahābhārata’s dharma-frame, readiness for war must be accompanied by discernment, restraint, and awareness of the consequences.
Sañjaya reports that a figure—understood in context as Arjuna, fully armed—appears radiant and formidable, like a lightning-lit cloud. Someone observes him from all sides with excitement and then speaks to him, marking a moment of appraisal before action in the war-preparations of the Udyoga Parva.