Shloka 11
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 42 — Duryodhana’s counsel to Bhīṣma on ajñātavāsa risk and raid strategy
गुरुभारसहो दिव्य: शात्रवाणां भयंकर: । कस्यायं सायको दीर्घ: शिलीपृष्ठ: शिलीमुख:,जिसके पृष्ठभागमें मेढ़कीका चित्र है और जिसका मुखभाग भी मेढ़कीके मुख-सा बना हुआ है, ऐसा यह भारी भार सहन करनेमें समर्थ, दिव्य और शत्रुमण्डलीके लिये भयंकर विशाल खड़्ग किसका है?
gurubhārasaho divyaḥ śātravāṇāṃ bhayaṅkaraḥ | kasyāyaṃ sāyako dīrghaḥ śilīpṛṣṭhaḥ śilīmukhaḥ ||
Uttara berkata: “Milik siapakah senjata peluru yang panjang ini—bersifat ilahi, sanggup menahan tegangan berat, dan menggentarkan barisan musuh—yang punggungnya bertanda katak dan ujungnya dibentuk seperti mulut katak?”
उत्तर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights discernment and respect for martial responsibility: a weapon’s distinctive marks and feared reputation point to its rightful owner and the ethical weight carried by those who wield divine arms.
In the Virāṭa episode, Uttara is examining stored weapons and, noticing a long, formidable, divinely described projectile with a frog emblem, asks whose weapon it is—an inquiry that foreshadows the revelation of the true warrior behind the arms.