Shloka 24
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
एष ते निशितैर्बाणैर्दर्प हन्मि स्थिरो भव । स धनुष्मान् महाकायस्ततो मामभ्यभाषत,इतना ही नहीं उस विशालकाय एवं धनुर्धर किरातने उस समय मुझसे यह भी कहा --'अच्छा, ठहर जाओ। मैं अपने पैने बाणोंसे अभी तुम्हारा घमंड चूर-चूर किये देता हूँ!
eṣa te niśitair bāṇair darpa hanmi sthiro bhava | sa dhanuṣmān mahākāyas tato mām abhyabhāṣata ||
ನಾನು ಹೇಳಿದೆ—“ಸ್ಥಿರವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲು; ಈ ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನ ದರ್ಪವನ್ನು ನಾನು ಚೂರುಮೂರು ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.” ಆಗ ಆ ಮಹಾಕಾಯ ಧನುರ್ಧರ ಕಿರಾತನು ನನಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾತಾಡಿದನು।
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride (darpa) provokes conflict and how true steadiness (sthira-bhāva) is tested in confrontation; the ethical undertone is that valor must be tempered by self-control, since arrogance invites a corrective challenge.
Arjuna issues a bold threat to crush the opponent’s pride with sharp arrows; immediately the formidable Kirāta, a great-bodied bowman, replies—escalating the encounter into a direct contest of skill and resolve.