Shloka 18
उत्तरो बृहन्नडां सारथ्याय नियुङ्क्ते — Uttara Appoints Bṛhannadā as Charioteer
रुक्मपुड्खा: प्रसन्नाग्रा मुक्ता हस्तवता त्वया | छादयन्तु शरा: सूर्य राज्ञां मार्गनिरोधका:,“वीरवर! आपके हाथ बहुत मजबूत हैं। उनके द्वारा आपके चलाये हुए सोनेकी पाँख और स्वच्छ नोकवाले बाण शत्रुपक्षेके राजाओंकी राह रोककर सूर्यदेवको भी ढक दें
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | rukmapuṅkhāḥ prasannāgrā muktā hastavatā tvayā | chādayantu śarāḥ sūryaṃ rājñāṃ mārganirodhakāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O best of heroes, your arms are mighty. May the arrows you release—gold-feathered and keen-tipped—block the path of the hostile kings and, in their dense flight, even veil the sun.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises disciplined martial capability used to restrain aggressors: strength and skill, when rightly directed, can protect order by checking hostile rulers and preventing their advance.
The narrator describes and extols a warrior’s archery: the hero’s powerful arms send forth gold-feathered, sharp arrows in such numbers that they obstruct the enemy kings’ movement and metaphorically darken the sun.