Shloka 47
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
कि नु मोक्ष्यामि धनुषा यन्मे बाणा: क्षयं गता: । अयं च पुरुष: को5पि बाणान् ग्रसति सर्वश:,वे मन-ही-मन सोचने लगे, “मेरे सारे बाण नष्ट हो गये, अब मैं धनुषसे क्या चलाऊँगा। यह कोई अदभुत पुरुष है, जो मेरे सारे बाणोंको खाये जा रहा है। अच्छा, अब मैं शूलके अग्रभागसे घायल किये जानेवाले हाथीकी भाँति इसे धनुषकी कोटि (नोक)-से मारकर दण्डधारी यमराजके लोकमें पहुँचा देता हूँ”
ki nu mokṣyāmi dhanuṣā yan me bāṇāḥ kṣayaṃ gatāḥ | ayaṃ ca puruṣaḥ ko 'pi bāṇān grasati sarvaśaḥ ||
Ia berpikir dalam hati, “Apa lagi yang dapat kulepaskan dari busurku, bila anak panahku telah habis? Dan orang ini—siapa pun dia—seakan menelan habis semua panahku.”
किरयात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fixation on victory and wounded pride can distort judgment: when ordinary means fail, the mind tends to escalate toward harsher measures. Ethically, it warns that frustration in conflict can quickly become cruelty unless restrained by discernment (viveka) and dharma.
In the Kirāta episode of the Vana Parva, the hunter confronts a formidable opponent (contextually Arjuna in disguise/under test). Seeing his arrows prove ineffective—‘as if swallowed’—the Kirāta expresses astonishment and frustration at the opponent’s extraordinary power and resilience.