Shloka 45
अध्याय ५८ — वानरध्वजस्य महेन्द्रास्त्रप्रयोगः
Chapter 58: Arjuna’s Deployment of the Indra-Weapon
महामना द्रोण और पाण्डुनन्दन अर्जुनका वह रोषपूर्ण युद्ध वृत्रासुर और इन्द्रके समान भयंकर प्रतीत होता था ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
mahāmanā droṇaḥ pāṇḍunandana arjunaś ca tasya roṣapūrṇasya yuddhasya vṛtrāsura-indrayor iva bhayaṅkaraṃ pratibhāti sma ||
tau gajāv iva cāsādya viṣāṇāgraiḥ parasparam |
śaraiḥ pūrṇāyato-tsṛṣṭair anyonyam abhijaghnatuḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : L’affrontement, chargé de colère, entre le magnanime Droṇa et Arjuna, fils de Pāṇḍu, paraissait aussi redoutable que le combat de Vṛtrāsura et d’Indra. Tels deux éléphants se ruant l’un sur l’autre et frappant de la pointe des défenses, ainsi ces deux guerriers, bandant leurs arcs à pleine tension et lâchant leurs flèches, se blessaient mutuellement dans un échange furieux.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how wrath (roṣa) magnifies the terror and destructiveness of conflict: even noble warriors, when driven by anger, turn battle into something cosmic and dreadful. It implicitly cautions that martial excellence should be governed by dharma and restraint, not by uncontrolled passion.
Vaiśampāyana describes Droṇa and Arjuna locked in a fierce duel. Their encounter is compared to Indra’s mythic fight with Vṛtra, and to two elephants colliding—both images emphasizing the intensity of their fully drawn, rapidly exchanged arrow-strikes as they wound each other.