Shloka 386

Devanagari script

रक्ष्यते शक्तिरेषा हि रौद्रें रूपं बिभर्ति च । क्योंकि उसके पास इन्द्रकी दी हुई शक्ति है, जो प्रज्वलित उल्काके समान प्रकाशित होती है। महाबाहो! सूतपुत्रने युद्धस्थलमें तुम्हारे ऊपर प्रयोग करनेके लिये ही इस शक्तिको सुरक्षित रखा है, यह बड़ा भयंकर रूप धारण करती है

Transliteration

rakṣyate śaktir eṣā hi raudreṃ rūpaṃ bibharti ca |

Translation

Vāyu said: “This weapon-power has indeed been kept in reserve, and it assumes a fierce, wrathful form. It is the divine Śakti granted by Indra—blazing like a flaming meteor—and the charioteer’s son has preserved it specifically to hurl it at you on the battlefield.”

Word by Word

• {'rakṣyate': 'is guarded, is kept in reserve, is preserved', 'śaktiḥ': 'power

• a divine missile/weapon called ‘Śakti’', 'eṣā': 'this (feminine, referring to śakti)', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'raudram': 'fierce, terrible, wrathful', 'rūpam': 'form, appearance', 'bibharti': 'bears, assumes, takes on', 'ca': 'and'}

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Wind-god)
• Śakti (divine weapon/missile)
• Indra
• Sūtaputra (Karna, ‘son of the charioteer’)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of divinely empowered violence: a celestial weapon, once reserved for a decisive moment, carries terrifying consequences. It underscores vigilance and discernment in war—knowing an opponent’s hidden resources and the irreversible cost of deploying extraordinary force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu (as a divine voice/speaker) warns a mighty warrior that Karṇa (the sūtaputra) has been saving Indra’s gifted Śakti specifically to use against him in battle. The weapon is described as blazing and fearsome, signaling an imminent, critical escalation in the combat.