Shloka 13

Virāṭa’s Conciliation and Uttara’s Account of the Unseen Champion

Bṛhannadā/Arjuna

Devanagari script

प्रैक्षनतत कुरव: सर्वे योधाश्व॒ सहसैनिका: । भल्‍्लैर्भल्ला: समागम्य भीष्मपाण्डवयोर्युधि । अन्तरिक्षे व्यराजन्त खटद्योता: प्रावषीव हि,समस्त कौरव-योद्धा अपने सैनिकोंके साथ खड़े-खडे तमाशा देखने लगे। रणभूमिमें भीष्म और पाण्डुकुमारके भल्‍ल एक-दूसरेसे टकराकर वर्षाकालके आकाशभमें जुगुनुओंकी भाँति चमक उठते थे

Transliteration

vaishampāyana uvāca | praikṣanta tat kuravaḥ sarve yodhāś ca sahasainikāḥ | bhallair bhallāḥ samāgamya bhīṣma-pāṇḍavayor yudhi | antarīkṣe vyarājanta khaṭadyotāḥ prāvṛṣi iva hi ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。やがてクル族の者たち――自軍を従えて陣に立つ戦士たち――は、まるで見物人のようにその戦いを見守った。ビ―シュマとパーンダヴァの一騎討ちでは、鋭い矢が互いにぶつかり合い、雨季の空に舞う蛍のように中空で閃いた――戦は、規律ある武勇さえも、見る者にとって眩くも危うい見世物へと変えてしまうことを示す譬えである。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'praikṣanta', 'definition': 'they watched, they looked on (as spectators)'}, {'term': 'kuravaḥ', 'definition': 'the Kurus (members/forces of the Kuru side)'}, {'term': 'yodhāḥ', 'definition': 'warriors, fighters'}, {'term': 'saha-sainikāḥ', 'definition': 'together with their soldiers/troops'}, {'term': 'bhalla', 'definition': 'a sharp arrow/dart (often a broad-headed missile)'}, {'term': 'samāgamya', 'definition': 'having met, coming together, colliding'}, {'term': 'yudhi', 'definition': 'in battle, in combat'}, {'term': 'antarīkṣe', 'definition': 'in the sky, in mid-air'}, {'term': 'vyarājanta', 'definition': 'they shone, they glittered'}, {'term': 'khaṭadyotāḥ', 'definition': 'fireflies (lit. ‘sky-lamps’/glow-insects)'}, {'term': 'prāvṛṣi', 'definition': 'in the rainy season'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as if'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kuravaḥ (Kurus)
• Bhīṣma
• Pāṇḍava (a Pāṇḍava warrior)
• bhalla (arrows)
• antarīkṣa (sky)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how warfare can become a spectacle: many stand and watch while lethal skill is displayed as something visually beautiful. The ethical tension lies in recognizing that dazzling martial prowess still serves destruction, reminding the listener to distinguish aesthetic admiration from moral endorsement.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Kuru warriors, along with their troops, pause to watch. In the fight between Bhīṣma and a Pāṇḍava, their arrows collide mid-air and glitter in the sky, compared to fireflies shining during the rainy season.