Shloka 38
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
परंतु उस महान् तेजस्वी वीरने क्षणभरमें ही मेरे उस ब्रह्मास्त्रको भी शान्त कर दिया। राजन! उस ब्रह्मास्त्रके नष्ट होनेपर मेरे मनमें महान् भय समा गया ।।
tato 'haṃ dhanur ādāya tathākṣayyau maheṣudhī | sahasābhyahanaṃ bhūtaṃ tāny apy astrāṇy abhakṣayat ||
Alors je saisis mon arc et, muni de mes deux carquois inépuisables remplis de grandes flèches, je me ruai sur cet être merveilleux et le frappai avec toute la hâte possible. Mais il dévora même ces traits comme s’ils eussent été sa nourriture. Voyant mon Brahmāstra neutralisé et mes armes rendues vaines, la peur se leva avec puissance dans mon esprit.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the greatest martial skill and the most potent astras can be rendered ineffective before a higher, divinely grounded power; the episode underscores humility and the ethical recognition of human limits in the face of the transcendent.
Arjuna, alarmed after his Brahmāstra is pacified, takes up his bow and his two inexhaustible quivers and attacks the extraordinary being; however, the being simply consumes the missiles, leaving Arjuna shaken with fear.