Shloka 4

Adhyāya 290: Kuntī’s Mantra-Parīkṣā and the Appearance of Sūrya (कुन्ती–सूर्यसंवादः)

Devanagari script

अन्तर्हित: प्रकाशो वा दिव्यैर्दत्तवरै: शरै: | जहि शत्रूनमित्रघ्न मम शस्त्रभृतां वर,शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ शत्रुनाशन वीर! जिनके लिये देवताओंने तुम्हें वरदान दिया है, ऐसे दिव्यास्त्रों-द्वारा प्रकटरूपमें या अदृश्य होकर मेरे शत्रुओंका नाश करो

Transliteration

antarhitaḥ prakāśo vā divyair dattavaraiḥ śaraiḥ | jahi śatrūn amitraghna mama śastrabhṛtāṃ vara ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Whether concealed or openly manifest, with those divine arrows that were granted to you as boons by the gods—slay the enemies. O destroyer of foes, best among weapon-bearers, use your heaven-given missiles to bring my adversaries to ruin.”

Word by Word

अन्तर्हितःhidden, concealed

प्रकाशःmanifestation, visible form

वाor

दिव्यैःwith divine

दत्तवरैःgranted-as-boons (boon-bestowed)

शरैःwith arrows

जहिslay, kill

शत्रून्enemies

अमित्रघ्नO slayer of foes

ममof me, my

शस्त्रभृताम्of weapon-bearers

वरO best, O excellent one

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

divine arrows (divya-śara)

the gods (implied as bestowers of boons)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the use of power—especially divinely sanctioned weaponry—as purposeful and duty-bound: force is invoked not for vanity but for protection and the removal of hostile threats, emphasizing disciplined, directed action rather than indiscriminate violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a warrior-hero, urging him to destroy enemies using divine arrows received as boons from the gods, whether acting invisibly (concealed) or openly (manifest), highlighting both capability and mandate to neutralize threats.