Shloka 45
ज्वालावर्णो देवदत्तो धनुष्मान् कवची शरी । मर्त्यधर्मतया तस्मादद्य मे साध्वसो महान्,“उसके शरीरकी कान्ति अग्निकी ज्वालाके समान उद्धासित होती है। वह देवताका दिया हुआ पुत्र है और धनुष, बाण तथा कवचके साथ प्रकट हुआ है। मरणधर्मा मनुष्य होनेके कारण मुझे अब उससे महान् भय लगता है
jvālāvarṇo devadatto dhanuṣmān kavacī śarī | martyadharmatayā tasmād adya me sādhvaso mahān ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Su tez fulgura como una lengua de fuego. Es un hijo otorgado por los dioses, manifestado con arco, flechas y armadura. Y, sin embargo, por ser un mortal sujeto a la ley de la muerte, hoy se alza en mí un gran temor a causa de él.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when someone appears divinely empowered and radiant, they remain within martyadharma—the mortal condition. The verse highlights the ethical tension between awe at extraordinary prowess and the sobering recognition that mortal agents can still cause harm and thus evoke legitimate fear.
The narrator describes a formidable figure whose fiery radiance and complete martial equipment (bow, arrows, armor) signal exceptional power. Observing this, the speaker confesses intense fear, grounding it in the fact that a mortal warrior—precisely because he acts within human limits and passions—can become dangerously unpredictable.