Shloka 35
आदित्यस्तेजसां श्रेष्ठो गिरीणां हिमवान् वर: । जातीनां ब्राह्मण: श्रेष्ठ: श्रेष्टस्त्व्मसि धन्विनाम्,“तेजोमय पदार्थोमें सूर्य श्रेष्ठ हैं, पर्वतोंमें हिमालय महान् है, जातियोंमें ब्राह्मण श्रेष्ठ है और तुम सम्पूर्ण धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ हो
ādityas tejasāṃ śreṣṭho girīṇāṃ himavān varaḥ | jātīnāṃ brāhmaṇaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭhas tvam asi dhanvinām ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Di antara sumber-sumber cahaya, Āditya (Surya) adalah yang utama; di antara gunung, Himavān yang paling mulia; di antara golongan, Brāhmaṇa dipandang terbaik; demikian pula, di antara para pemanah, engkaulah yang terunggul.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Excellence is illustrated through culturally accepted exemplars (Sun among lights, Himalaya among mountains, Brāhmaṇa among jāti-s), culminating in the assertion of the addressed warrior’s supremacy among archers—praise used to steady confidence and affirm role-based dharma in the context of battle.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, delivers a laudatory comparison that elevates the addressed bowman as the foremost among dhanvins, using a sequence of well-known superlatives to intensify encouragement amid the Kurukṣetra war setting.