Shloka 1

Bhīmasena’s Himalayan Hunt and Seizure by the Ajagara (भीमसेनस्य अजगरग्रहणम्)

Devanagari script

(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका २३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ७७३ श्लोक हैं) छः #&< (9) #प्टज 2४ चतुःसप्तरत्यांधेकशततमो< ध्याय: 80: कक कं यात्राका वृत्तान्त सुनकर युधिष्ठिरद्वारा उनका और दिव्यास्त्रदर्शनकी इच्छा प्रकट करना अजुन उवाच ततो मामतिविश्वस्तं संरूढशरविक्षतम्‌ देवराजो विगृहोदं काले वचनमब्रवीत्‌

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | tato mām ativisvastaṃ saṃrūḍhaśaravikṣatam | devarājo vigṛhodaṃ kāle vacanam abravīt ||

Translation

Arjuna said: “Then, when I had become fully confident, though my body was still pierced and wounded by embedded arrows, the Lord of the gods spoke to me at the proper moment—his words firm and resolute.”

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'mām': 'to me', 'ativisvastam': 'fully trusting

• thoroughly reassured/confident', 'saṃrūḍha': 'grown in

• firmly lodged/embedded', 'śara': 'arrow', 'vikṣatam': 'wounded, injured', 'devarājaḥ': 'king of the gods (Indra)', 'vigṛhodaṃ': 'with firm resolve

• decisively (reading as an adverbial qualifier of speech/attitude)', 'kāle': 'at the right time, in due season', 'vacanam': 'speech, words, instruction', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Indra (Devaraja)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kāla—right timing—as an ethical principle: instruction and decisive counsel are most effective when given after the recipient has been tested, steadied, and made ready through endurance and discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna narrates that after he had gained confidence (despite still bearing arrow-wounds), Indra, the king of the gods, addressed him with firm resolve at an opportune moment—signaling a transition to guidance or a significant directive.