Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्रतु-प्रवर्तनम् तथा पाण्डवानां निमन्त्रण-प्रतिवचनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Sacrifice Commences and the Pandavas’ Reply to the Invitation
क्षुरप्रैविशिखैर्भल्लैर्वत्सदन्तैस्तथा55यसै:
kṣuraprai-viśikhair bhallair vatsadantais tathāyasaiḥ
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「剃刀のごとく鋭い矢、返しのある矢、幅広の鏃を備えた矢、子牛の歯のように刻み目のある飛び道具、そして鉄の武器によって」——かくして戦場には凄烈な武器の雨が降り注いだ。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it highlights how conflict escalates through increasingly sharp and deadly means, implicitly warning that anger and rivalry express themselves through instruments of harm, drawing attention to the human cost and moral weight of violence.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a battle scene in which combatants unleash a barrage of different kinds of arrows and iron weapons—razor-edged, broad-headed, and serrated—emphasizing the intensity and ferocity of the exchange.