Shloka 9
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 42 — Duryodhana’s counsel to Bhīṣma on ajñātavāsa risk and raid strategy
कस्येमे पृथवो दीर्घाश्वन्द्रबिम्बार्धदर्शना: । शतानि सप्त तिष्ठन्ति नाराचा रुधिराशना:,ये जो शत्रुओंका रक्त पीनेवाले मोटे, विशाल तथा अर्धचन्द्राकार दिखायी देनेवाले सात सौ नाराच रखे हुए हैं, किसके हैं?
uttara uvāca |
kasyeme pṛthavo dīrghāś candrabimbārdhadarśanāḥ |
śatāni sapta tiṣṭhanti nārācā rudhirāśanāḥ ||
Uttara said: “Whose are these thick and long nārāca arrows, shaped like the half-disc of the moon, that stand here in seven hundred—arrows that seem as though they drink the blood of enemies?”
उत्तर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights discernment and preparedness in a kṣatriya context: weapons are not mere objects but carry responsibility and consequence. Uttara’s questioning signals the ethical awareness that power (arms) must be understood—whose it is, and for what purpose it is to be used.
Uttara notices a large stock of formidable nārāca arrows—seven hundred, thick and long, half-moon in appearance—and asks whose weapons they are. The question sets up identification of the owner and the martial resources available for the impending conflict.