Shloka 46
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
घण्टापताकामणिवज्जभाजं वैदूर्यचित्रां तपनीयदण्डाम् । त्वष्टा प्रयत्नान्नियमेन क्लृप्तां ब्रह्मद्विषामन्तकरीममोघाम्
sañjaya uvāca | ghaṇṭāpatākāmaṇivajrabhājaṃ vaidūryacitrāṃ tapanīyadaṇḍām | tvaṣṭā prayatnān niyamena klṛptāṃ brahmadviṣām antakarīm amoghām ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Estaba adornada con pequeñas campanillas y gallardetes ondeantes, engastada con gemas y diamantes, e incrustada con vaidūrya. Su asta era de oro refinado. Forjada por Tvaṣṭṛ, el artífice divino, con disciplina y gran empeño, era infalible: instrumento de destrucción para quienes son hostiles al Brahman (el orden sagrado y la verdad espiritual), e incapaz de errar el blanco.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a weapon as more than ornamented metal: it embodies disciplined creation (niyama, prayatna) and moral consequence—being ‘antakarī’ specifically for those who oppose Brahman, i.e., who act against sacred order and truth. The ethical suggestion is that power becomes decisive and ‘amogha’ when aligned with cosmic order, while hostility to that order leads to ruin.
Sanjaya is describing an extraordinary spear-like weapon (śakti) in vivid detail—its bells, banners, gem-setting, vaidūrya inlay, and golden shaft—emphasizing that it was crafted by the divine artisan Tvaṣṭṛ with strict observance and great effort, and that it never fails to hit its target and is deadly to the enemies of Brahman.