Shloka 13
त्रिगर्त-मात्स्य-संग्रामः
The Trigarta–Matsya Engagement at Twilight
शतसूर्य शतावर्त शतबिन्दु शताक्षिमत्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: śatasūrya-śatāvarta-śatabindu-śatākṣimat matsyadeśake rājā virāṭaḥ abhedya-kalpaṃ nāma kavacaṃ jagrāha; yat kenāpi astrā-śastrena na chidyate. tasmin sūrya-sama-prabhāḥ śataṃ phullikāḥ, śatam āvartāḥ, śataṃ bindavaḥ (sūkṣma-cakrāṇi), śataṃ ca netra-sadṛśākārāṇi cakrāṇi nirmmitāni. aparaṃ ca adhaḥ-ūrdhvaṃ saugandhika-jātīyānāṃ śataṃ kamalākṛtayaḥ paṅkti-baddhā babhūvuḥ.
Vaiśampāyana said: In the land of the Matsyas, King Virāṭa donned an armor called “Abhedya-kalpa,” wrought as though unbreakable—no weapon, whether missile or hand-held, could cut it. It was adorned with a hundred sun-bright bosses, a hundred whorled patterns, a hundred minute circular marks, and a hundred wheel-like forms shaped like eyes. Moreover, from bottom to top, it bore in orderly rows the forms of a hundred fragrant lotus-blossoms.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights rājadharma in practice: a ruler must be equipped to protect the kingdom. The ‘invulnerable’ armor symbolizes preparedness and the obligation to shield subjects in times of danger, not merely personal glory.
The narrator describes King Virāṭa of the Matsya realm putting on a famed, weapon-proof armor called Abhedya-kalpa, detailing its many sun-bright and lotus-like decorative motifs.