Shloka 33
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
नीतिमन्तं महात्मानमादित्यसमतेजसम् । दुराधर्ष क्रियावन्तमतीवाद्भुतदर्शनम्
nītimantaṃ mahātmānam ādityasamatejasam | durādharṣaṃ kriyāvantam atīvādbhuta-darśanam ||
Mendengar demikian, Raja Pāṇḍu—Kuru-nandana yang berjiwa dharma—sangat bersukacita. Mengingat sabda Dewa-raja, ia berkata kepada Kuntī: “Wahai Kalyāṇī, buah dari tapamu kelak akan membawa keberuntungan. Indra, penguasa para dewa, berkenan kepada kita dan hendak menganugerahkan kepadamu seorang putra utama sesuai tekadmu. Ia akan menjadi pelaku karya-karya adikodrati, termasyhur, penakluk musuh, arif dalam nīti, berhati agung, bercahaya laksana Surya, tak tertandingi, giat dalam tindakan, dan berwujud amat menakjubkan.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the ideal qualities of a divinely sanctioned leader: ethical discernment (nīti), greatness of soul, radiant excellence, invincibility grounded in strength, and effectiveness in action—suggesting that power is most auspicious when joined to virtue and wise conduct.
Indra (Śakra) is characterizing the extraordinary son he will grant—listing the child’s virtues and heroic traits as part of the boon narrative surrounding the begetting of exceptional offspring.