Shloka 19
धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्
Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement
बिभ्रन्मालां महातेजा: पद्मोत्पलसमायुताम् । विप्रेक्षष्माणो बहुभिनातृप्पत् सुमहाहवम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bibhran mālāṃ mahātejāḥ padmotpalasamāyutām | viprekṣamāṇo bahubhir na tṛpyat sumahāhavam ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— महातेजस्वी इन्द्र पद्म और उत्पलों से युक्त माला धारण किए हुए थे। वे उस अत्यन्त महान युद्ध को—जिसे अनेक वीर देख रहे थे—निरन्तर निहारते रहे, पर तृप्त न हुए।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how righteous valor and steadfast duty (dharma in action) can become worthy even of divine attention: the gods themselves delight in witnessing courage aligned with a just cause, suggesting that ethical conduct in conflict elevates human action to cosmic significance.
The narrator describes Indra, adorned with a lotus garland and surrounded by gods in celestial vimānas, repeatedly watching a tremendous battle—understood in context as Arjuna’s extraordinary combat—so captivating that even repeated viewing does not satisfy him.