Shloka 22
Virāṭa’s Conciliation and Uttara’s Account of the Unseen Champion
Bṛhannadā/Arjuna
अर्जुन बलवान, तरुण, कुशल और शीघ्रतापूर्वक बाण चलानेवाले हैं। शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्म, देवकीनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण अथवा आचार्यप्रवर महाबली भरद्वाजनन्दन द्रोणके सिवा दूसरा कौन ऐसा है, जो संग्राममें पार्थका वेग रोक सके? ।। अस्त्रैरस्त्राणि संवार्य क्रीडन्ती भरतर्षभौ । चक्षूंषि सर्वभूतानां मोहयन्तीो महाबलौ,वे दोनों भरतकुलशिरोमणि महाबली वीर समस्त प्राणियोंके नेत्रोंमें मोह एवं आश्चर्य उत्पन्न करते हुए अस्त्रोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेके अस्त्रोंका निवारण करके खेल-सा कर रहे थे
arjunaḥ balavān taruṇaḥ kuśalaḥ śīghratāpūrvakaṃ bāṇacālanavān asti | śāntanunandano bhīṣmaḥ devakīnandanaḥ śrīkṛṣṇo’tha vā ācāryapravaro mahābalī bharadvājanandano droṇaḥ vinā anyaḥ kaḥ saṅgrāme pārthasya vegaṃ roddhuṃ śaknoti || astrair astrāṇi saṃvārya krīḍantau bharatarṣabhau | cakṣūṃṣi sarvabhūtānāṃ mohayantau mahābalau ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Arjuna is mighty, youthful, skilled, and swift in releasing arrows. Who else—apart from Bhīṣma, son of Śāntanu, Devakī’s son Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or the foremost teacher, the great and powerful Droṇa, son of Bharadvāja—could check Pārtha’s onrush in battle? Then those two bull-like heroes of the Bharata line, immensely strong, parried weapon with weapon as if in sport, astonishing and bewildering the eyes of all beings.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights disciplined excellence in warfare: true mastery is shown not merely by aggression but by controlled skill—checking force with appropriate counter-force—while implying that only the greatest exemplars (Bhīṣma, Kṛṣṇa, Droṇa) could ethically and effectively restrain Arjuna’s overwhelming momentum.
The narrator praises Arjuna’s speed and competence and then describes a spectacular duel in which two mighty Bharata heroes counter each other’s missiles—weapon against weapon—so deftly that onlookers are left astonished, as if the combat were a display or sport rather than a chaotic fight.