Shloka 38
निवातकवचवधः — Arjuna’s Neutralization of the Nivātakavacas
Vajra-astra deployment
तथा क्रान्ते रथे राजन् विस्मितश्लैदमब्रवीत् । राजन! उस समय देवसारथि मातलिने आकाशमें चक्कर लगाते हुए रथपर स्थिरतापूर्वक बैठे हुए मेरे मुखकी ओर दृष्टिपात किया और आश्वर्यवकित होकर कहा -- ३७३ || अत्यद्भुतमिदं त्वद्य विचित्र प्रतिभाति मे
tathā krānte rathe rājan vismitaḥ ślīdam abravīt | atyadbhutam idaṃ tv adya vicitraṃ pratibhāti me ||
O King, when the chariot had thus moved on, the divine charioteer Mātali—steadfastly seated upon the chariot as it wheeled through the sky—looked toward my face and, struck with wonder, spoke: “This indeed appears to me today as exceedingly marvelous and strangely extraordinary.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and spiritual mood of awe (vismaya) before extraordinary events: even a divine charioteer responds with humility and wonder, suggesting that marvels are to be met with attentive reverence rather than arrogance.
Arjuna reports to the king that as their chariot moved through the sky, Mātali looked at him and, amazed, remarked that what they are witnessing is extraordinarily marvelous and uncanny—signaling a significant, otherworldly development in their journey.