Shloka 3
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
स तेन बाणेन समर्पितेन जाम्बूनदाग्रेण सुसंहितेन । रराज राजन् महनीयकर्मा यथैकपर्वा रुचिरैकशृज्गध:
sa tena bāṇena samarpitena jāmbūnadāgreṇa susaṃhitena | rarāja rājan mahanīyakarmā yathaikaparvā ruciraikaśṛṅgadhaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Struck and lodged by that well-fixed arrow—its point gleaming like refined gold—Arjuna, whose deeds were worthy of praise, shone all the more, O King, like a beautiful mountain with a single peak made splendid by a lone bamboo rising upon it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya steadfastness: a noble warrior’s dignity is not diminished by injury; rather, endurance and composure under attack can become an emblem of honor and admired conduct.
An arrow with a golden-looking point has struck and remained lodged in Arjuna’s forehead. Instead of depicting him as weakened, the poet describes him as shining—using a simile of a single-peaked mountain beautified by a lone bamboo—to emphasize his heroic presence even while wounded.