Shloka 6
Lokapāla-samāgamaḥ—Arjuna Receives Astras from the World-Guardians
Book 3, Chapter 42
तत्र नागा महाकाया ज्वलितास्या: सुदारुणा: । सिताभ्रकूटप्रतिमा: संहताश्च॒ तथोपला:,उस स्थानमें अत्यन्त भयंकर तथा प्रज्वलित मुखवाले विशालकाय सर्प मौजूद थे। श्वेत बादलोंके समूहकी भाँति ढेर-के-ढेर युद्धमें फेंकनेयोग्य पत्थर भी रखे हुए थे
tatra nāgā mahākāyā jvalitāsyāḥ sudāruṇāḥ | sitābhrakūṭapratimāḥ saṃhatāś ca tathopalāḥ ||
There, huge serpents were present—terrifying, with blazing mouths. And there too were heaps of stones, massed together and fit to be hurled in battle, resembling clusters of white clouds.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily heightens the sense of danger in the setting: nature itself (serpents, rock-heaps like missiles) becomes an obstacle. Ethically, it underscores vigilance and steadiness when moving through threatening environments, where fear and violence are latent.
Vaiśampāyana describes a particular location encountered in the story: it is inhabited by enormous, fearsome serpents with flaming mouths, and it contains piled stones compared to white cloud-masses—suggesting a terrain prepared for or reminiscent of conflict.