Shloka 36
Kailāsa-darśana, Badarī-vāsa, and Sarasvatī–Dvaitavana Transition (कैलासदर्शन–बदरीवास–सरस्वतीद्वैतवनगमनम्)
अस्त्राणि मम दिव्यानि प्रत्यघध्नन् शनकैरिव परंतु विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले वे सहस्रों रथारूढ़ दानव धीरे-धीरे मेरे दिव्यास्त्रोंका भी निवारण करने लगे ।। रथमार्गान् विचित्रांस्ते विचरन्तो महाबला:
arjuna uvāca | astrāṇi mama divyāni pratyaghnan śanakair iva | parantu vicitra-yuddha-karṇevāle te sahasroṃ rathārūḍha dānava dhīre-dhīre mama divyāstrāṇām api nivāraṇaṃ kartum ārabdhavantaḥ || ratha-mārgān vicitrāṃs te vicaranto mahābalāḥ |
Arjuna said: “My celestial weapons were being countered, as though little by little. Yet those thousands of chariot-mounted Dānavas—skilled in strange and varied modes of fighting—began, gradually, to obstruct even my divine missiles. Moving about with great strength along intricate chariot-paths and maneuvers, they kept shifting their courses in battle.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary power (divine weapons) can be checked by disciplined opposition and superior tactics; the episode highlights the kṣatriya ethic of steadiness under reversal and the need for strategic adaptability rather than reliance on sheer potency.
Arjuna reports that thousands of chariot-mounted Dānavas, adept in unusual battle maneuvers, are gradually neutralizing his celestial missiles by moving skillfully along complex chariot routes and repeatedly countering his attacks.