Shloka 86
निवातकवचवधः — Arjuna’s Neutralization of the Nivātakavacas
Vajra-astra deployment
स शड्ुखी कवची बाणी प्रगृूहीतशरासन: । दानवालयमत्युग्रं प्रयातो5स्मि युयुत्सया,वही यह शंख है, जिसे मैंने अपनी विजयके लिये ग्रहण किया था। देवताओंने उसे दिया था, इसलिये इसका नाम देवदत्त है। शंख लेकर देवताओंके मुखसे अपनी स्तुति सुनता हुआ मैं कवच, बाण तथा धनुषसे सज्जित हो युद्धकी इच्छासे अत्यन्त भयंकर दानवोंके नगरकी ओर चल दिया
sa ṣaḍmukhī kavacī bāṇī pragṛhītaśarāsanaḥ | dānavālayam atyugraṃ prayāto 'smi yuyutsayā ||
Arjuna said: “Armed with a six-faced (weapon), clad in armour, furnished with arrows, and holding my bow, I set out with the desire to fight toward the exceedingly dreadful stronghold of the Dānavas.” The passage evokes a warrior’s disciplined readiness: divinely sanctioned equipment is taken up not for vanity, but for a purposeful confrontation with forces portrayed as destructive and unrighteous.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined martial readiness aligned with duty: a warrior equips himself properly and proceeds with resolve against a feared adversary, implying that strength and divine gifts are to be used in service of a righteous purpose rather than personal display.
Arjuna speaks in the first person, describing how he armed himself—armour, arrows, and bow—and then departed, intent on battle, toward the terrifying stronghold of the Dānavas.