आदित्यस्तेजसां श्रेष्ठो गिरीणां हिमवान् वर: । जातीनां ब्राह्मण: श्रेष्ठ: श्रेष्टस्त्व्मसि धन्विनाम्
ādityas tejasāṃ śreṣṭho girīṇāṃ himavān varaḥ | jātīnāṃ brāhmaṇaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭhas tvam asi dhanvinām ||
Sañjaya dit : «Parmi les sources de lumière, le Soleil est le premier ; parmi les montagnes, Himavān (l’Himalaya) est le plus excellent ; parmi les ordres sociaux, le brāhmaṇa est tenu pour le meilleur. De même, tu es le premier de tous les archers.»
संजय उवाच
Excellence is illustrated through culturally accepted exemplars (Sun among lights, Himalaya among mountains, Brāhmaṇa among jāti-s), culminating in the assertion of the addressed warrior’s supremacy among archers—praise used to steady confidence and affirm role-based dharma in the context of battle.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, delivers a laudatory comparison that elevates the addressed bowman as the foremost among dhanvins, using a sequence of well-known superlatives to intensify encouragement amid the Kurukṣetra war setting.