Shloka 22
अर्जुनागमनम्
Arjuna’s Arrival and Reunion on the Sacred Mountain
गन्धर्वोरगरक्षांसि वासवश्नल निवारित: । हता मायाविनश्षोग्रा धनु: प्राप्तं च गाण्डिवम्,“भरतश्रेष्ठ! गरुडके पंखसे उठी हुई वायुके वेगसे उस दिन उस महान् पर्वतसे जो पाँच रंगके फूल अश्वरथा नदीके तटपर गिराये गये थे, उन्हें सब प्राणियोंने प्रत्यक्ष देखा। मुझे याद है, खाण्डव वनमें तुम्हारे महामना भाई सत्यप्रतिज्ञ अर्जुनने गन्धर्वों, नागों, राक्षसों तथा देवराज इन्द्रको भी युद्धमें आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दिया था। बहुत-से भयंकर मायावी राक्षस उनके हाथों मारे गये और उन्होंने गाण्डीव नामक धनुष भी प्राप्त कर लिया
gandharvoragarakṣāṃsi vāsavaś ca nalas tatha nīvāritāḥ | hatā māyāvinaś cogrā dhanur prāptaṃ ca gāṇḍīvam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Gandharvas, Nāgas, and Rākṣasas—along with Vāsava (Indra) and even Agni—were held back and prevented from advancing. Many fierce, illusion-wielding beings were slain, and the bow named Gāṇḍīva was obtained. The passage recalls Arjuna’s steadfast prowess in the Khāṇḍava episode: his vow-bound resolve restrains even divine forces, yet the narrative also frames this power within the larger moral tension of warlike necessity, divine opposition, and the acquisition of a weapon that will later shape the fate of many.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfast resolve and martial excellence so strong that even divine and supernatural forces are checked; ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between power and responsibility—how extraordinary strength and divine weapons must be situated within dharma and the consequences they bring.
Vaiśampāyana recalls a battle context (linked in tradition to the Khāṇḍava episode): Gandharvas, Nāgas, and Rākṣasas, and even Indra (Vāsava) and Agni (Anala), are prevented from advancing; many fierce illusionists are slain, and the bow Gāṇḍīva is obtained.