Shloka 31
Virāṭa’s Conciliation and Uttara’s Account of the Unseen Champion
Bṛhannadā/Arjuna
अथावृणोद् दश दिश: शरैरतिरथस्तदा । किरीटमाली कौन्तेय: शूर: शान्तनवस्तथा,किरीटमाली कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुन और शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्म दोनों ही अतिरथी वीर थे। उन्होंने अपने बाणोंसे दसों दिशाओंको आच्छादित कर दिया
athāvṛṇod daśa diśaḥ śarair atirathas tadā | kirīṭamālī kaunteyaḥ śūraḥ śāntanavas tathā ||
Then, at that moment, the great chariot-warrior covered the ten directions with a shower of arrows. The diademed son of Kuntī—Arjuna—and the heroic descendant of Śāntanu (Bhīṣma) were both foremost fighters, their prowess filling the battlefield on every side.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of kṣatriya excellence: disciplined courage and mastery in battle. By portraying both Arjuna and Bhīṣma as atirathas whose arrows ‘cover the directions,’ it underscores responsibility and prowess as integral to warrior-dharma, while also reminding that great power shapes the moral stakes of conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes an intense combat moment where a foremost warrior floods the battlefield with arrows in all directions. He identifies the principal figures as Arjuna (the diademed son of Kuntī) and Bhīṣma (the descendant of Śāntanu), emphasizing that both are elite chariot-warriors.