Shloka 3
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
अहमेनानजिद्याग्रै: शतशो विकिरज्छरै: | वारयिष्यामि संक्रुद्धान् मन्त्रराशीविषानिव,“मैं (अकेला ही) सीधी नोकवाले सैकड़ों बाणोंकी वर्षा करके क्रोधमें भरे हुए इन शत्रुओंको उसी प्रकार रोक दूँगा, जैसे मन्त्रज्ञ लोग अपने मन्त्रों (के बल)-से विषैले सर्पोंको कुण्ठित कर देते हैं”
ahaṁ enān ajid-yāgraiḥ śataśo vikirac-charaiḥ | vārayiṣyāmi saṁkruddhān mantrarāśi-viṣān iva ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Alone, I shall check these foes, swollen with wrath, by showering hundreds of sharp-pointed arrows—just as those skilled in mantras subdue venomous serpents through the power of their incantations.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined restraint in conflict: force is presented not as reckless aggression but as a controlled means to prevent harm—paralleled with mantra-knowledge that neutralizes poison rather than merely reacting in fear.
A warrior declares his intent to single-handedly halt enraged opponents by unleashing a dense volley of sharp arrows, comparing this act of checking them to how mantra-knowers render venomous serpents powerless.