Shloka 31
अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa
with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma
यथा शक्रो महाराज पुरा विव्याध दानवम् । विप्रचित्तिं दुराधर्ष देवतानां भयंकरम्
yathā śakro mahārāja purā vivyādha dānavam | vipracittiṃ durādharṣaṃ devatānāṃ bhayaṅkaram ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, just as Śakra (Indra) once, in former times, struck down the Dānava Vipracitti—hard to assail and a terror to the gods—so too (in this manner) was that blow delivered.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a divine precedent to frame human combat: formidable power that terrifies others can still be overcome by decisive, righteous force. Ethically, it highlights how epic narration legitimizes courage by recalling earlier paradigms of protecting the cosmic order (devas versus destructive forces).
Sañjaya describes a battlefield action by comparing it to an ancient event: Indra once pierced the fearsome Dānava Vipracitti. The simile intensifies the scene, portraying the current strike as similarly powerful and fate-turning.