Shloka 13
Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
अर्जुन प्रति संरब्धो युद्धार्थी स महारथ: । महोदधिजमादाय दशध्मौ वेगेन वीर्यवान्
arjunaṃ prati saṃrabdho yuddhārthī sa mahārathaḥ | mahodadhijam ādāya daśadhmau vegena vīryavān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Enraged toward Arjuna and eager for battle, that mighty chariot-warrior took up his conch—born of the great ocean—and, full of vigor, blew it with force. The moment signals how Arjuna’s proclamation (through the conch) provokes a seasoned elder into open martial resolve, shifting the scene from restraint to the ethics of inevitable combat among kṣatriyas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A martial signal (the conch) is not merely sound but a public declaration of intent; it can awaken pride, anger, and the kṣatriya obligation to respond. The verse highlights how inner emotions quickly translate into outward action in a dharma-bound battlefield context.
After Arjuna’s conch is sounded, an opposing great warrior becomes angry toward him, takes up his own ocean-born conch, and blows it powerfully—announcing readiness to fight and intensifying the confrontation.