Shloka 3
अर्जुनस्य प्रतिघातः — श्रुताय्वच्युतायुवधः तथा गजसैन्यविदारणम्
Arjuna’s Counterstroke: Slaying of Śrutāyu and Acyutāyu; Breaking the Elephant Corps
बलवान् भरत बाल्यावस्थामें ही नखों और दाढ़ोंसे प्रहार करनेवाले बरफके समान सफेद रंगके सिंहोंको अपने बाहुबलके वेगसे पराजित एवं निर्बल करके उन्हें खींच लाते क्रूरांश्नोग्रतरान् व्याप्रान् दमित्वा चाकरोद् वशे । मन:शिला इव शिला: संयुक्ता जतुराशिभि:,वे अत्यन्त भयंकर और क्रूर स्वभाववाले व्याप्रोंका दमन करके उन्हें अपने वशमें कर लेते थे। मैनसिलके समान पीली और लाक्षाराशिसे संयुक्त लाल रंगकी बड़ी-बड़ी शिलाओंको वे सुगमतापूर्वक हाथसे उठा लेते थे
nārada uvāca | balavān bharata bālyāvasthāyām eva nakhair dāḍhābhiś ca praharantaḥ himavat-śveta-varṇān siṃhān bāhu-bala-vegena parājitya nirbalīkṛtya tān ākarṣya ānayati sma | krūrān ugra-tarān vyāghrān damitvā ca akārod vaśe | manaḥśilā iva śilāḥ saṃyuktā jatu-rāśibhiḥ—pīta-raktā mahā-śilāḥ—sa sukhena hastena utthāpayati sma ||
Nārada said: Even in his boyhood, that mighty Bharata would, with the force of his arms, overpower and weaken lions—white as snow—striking them with nails and teeth and dragging them along. He would also subdue exceedingly fierce and cruel tigers and bring them under his control. And boulders—yellow like manaḥśilā and red with masses of lac—he could easily lift with his hand. The passage highlights extraordinary strength disciplined into mastery: raw power is shown not as mere violence, but as the capacity to restrain and control what is wild and terrifying.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power becomes ethically meaningful when it is governed by restraint. The verse portrays Bharata’s strength as mastery over the wild—an image of inner discipline and fitness for rulership, where the ability to control fearsome forces matters more than mere capacity to harm.
Nārada describes Bharata’s extraordinary feats in childhood: he overpowers snow-white lions, subdues fierce tigers, and lifts large mineral- and lac-colored boulders with ease—establishing his exceptional vigor and capacity to bring dangerous beings under control.