Shloka 18
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
कलापिनश्चापहस्ता दीर्घकेशा: प्रियंवदा: । पत्तय: सादिनक्षान्ये घोररूपपराक्रमा:,राजन्! वे सभी सैनिक समानरूपसे मृत्युको वरण करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा करके एक- दूसरेका साथ नहीं छोड़ते थे। वे मस्तकपर मोरपंख धारण किये हुए थे। उनके हाथोंमें धनुष शोभा पाता था। उनके केश बहुत बड़े थे और वे प्रिय वचन बोलते थे। अन्यान्य पैदल और घुड़सवार भी बड़े भयंकर पराक्रमी थे ताभ्यां मुक्ता महाबाणा: कड़्कबर्हिणवासस: । द्योतयन्तो दिश: सर्वा: सम्पेतु: स्वर्णभूषणा: उन दोनोंके छोड़े हुए स्वर्णभूषित महान् बाण, जो कंक और मोरके पंखोंसे सुशोभित थे, सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको प्रकाशित करते हुए गिरने लगे
sañjaya uvāca |
kalāpinaścāpahastā dīrghakeśāḥ priyaṃvadāḥ |
pattayaḥ sādinakṣānye ghorarūpaparākramāḥ ||
tābhyāṃ muktā mahābāṇāḥ kaṅkabārhiṇavāsasaḥ |
dyotayanto diśaḥ sarvāḥ sampetuḥ svarṇabhūṣaṇāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, those warriors—having vowed alike to embrace death—did not abandon one another. With peacock-feathers upon their heads, bows gleaming in their hands, long hair flowing, and speech that sounded pleasing, they advanced. Other foot-soldiers and horsemen too were dreadful in form and fierce in prowess. From those two, great arrows—adorned with gold and fletched with vulture-feathers and peacock-plumes—were released; blazing as they flew, they seemed to light up all directions before they fell.” Ethically, the passage juxtaposes outward gentleness (pleasant speech, ornamentation) with the grim resolve of battlefield vows, highlighting how in war even attractive forms and courteous words can mask a collective commitment to lethal duty and mutual loyalty unto death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, in the kṣatriya world of the Mahābhārata, comradeship and resolve can become a collective vow unto death. It also hints at an ethical tension: outward refinement (pleasant speech, ornamentation) can coexist with—and even serve—the grim machinery of violence, reminding the reader to judge by intent and action rather than appearance.
Sañjaya describes a group of warriors who do not abandon each other, marked by peacock-feathers and bows. He then depicts two principal fighters releasing mighty, gold-adorned arrows with distinctive feathering, which streak through the sky as if lighting up the quarters before falling.