Shloka 20
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
युधि पञ्चजन हत्वा दैत्यं पातालवासिनम् | पाज्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो दिव्यं शड्खमवाप्तवान्
yudhi pañcajana hatvā daityaṃ pātālavāsinam | pāñcajanyaṃ hṛṣīkeśo divyaṃ śaṅkham avāptavān ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Au combat, après avoir tué le démon Pañcajana, qui demeurait dans le monde souterrain, Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa) obtint la conque divine nommée Pāñcajanya. » L’épisode souligne que les insignes divins ne sont pas de simples ornements : ils se gagnent en terrassant les forces destructrices et deviennent des instruments qui rassemblent les justes dans la guerre.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous power is portrayed as disciplined and earned: sacred emblems like the conch are gained through confronting and overcoming harmful forces, and then used to uphold dharma by inspiring and organizing the righteous in battle.
The narrator states that Kṛṣṇa (Hṛṣīkeśa) slew the netherworld-dwelling demon Pañcajana and thereby obtained the divine conch called Pāñcajanya, a famed war-signal associated with him.