Shloka 11
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
निहत्य नागं तु शरेण तेन वज्रोपमेनाद्रिवराम्बुदा भम् । तथाविधेनैव शरेण पार्थो दुर्योधनं वक्षसि निर्बिभेद
nihatya nāgaṃ tu śareṇa tena vajropamenādrivarāmbudābham | tathāvidhenaiva śareṇa pārtho duryodhanaṃ vakṣasi nirbibheda ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Après avoir abattu le grand éléphant d’une flèche—dure comme le vajra, semblable à une montagne et à une masse de nuées de pluie—Pārtha (Arjuna), d’une autre flèche du même acier, perça Duryodhana à la poitrine. La scène souligne l’élan inexorable du combat : prouesse et résolution portent l’action, tandis que la tension morale de la violence et de ses conséquences demeure implicite sous le récit héroïque.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the force and inevitability of martial action once battle is joined: skill and resolve can be decisive, yet the narration also invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the chain of consequences it sets in motion.
After killing a powerful elephant with a thunderbolt-like arrow, Arjuna (Pārtha) immediately follows with a similar arrow and strikes Duryodhana, piercing him in the chest, as described by the narrator Vaiśampāyana.