Mahabharata 3.147.11 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 147, Shloka 11
Bhīmasena–Hanūmān Saṃvāda: The Tail Test and the Divine Path
रुक्मपृष्ठं धनुर्गृह्म शरांश्वाशीविषोपमान् । मृगराडिव संक्रुद्धः प्रभिन्न इव कुज्जर:
rukmapṛṣṭhaṃ dhanur gṛhya śarāṃś cāśīviṣopamān | mṛgarāḍ iva saṃkruddhaḥ prabhinna iva kuñjaraḥ ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— സ്വർണം പതിച്ച പിൻഭാഗമുള്ള തന്റെ വില്ല് കൈയിലെടുത്ത്, വിഷസർപ്പങ്ങളെപ്പോലെ ഭയങ്കരമായ അമ്പുകളും ഒരുക്കി. പിന്നെ അവൻ നിർഭയമായി മുന്നേറി—ക്രുദ്ധസിംഹംപോലെയും കപോലങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മദധാര ഒഴുകുന്ന മത്തഗജരാജൻപോലെയും।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of resolute courage and preparedness: when duty demands confrontation, one must act without fear, yet it also implicitly warns that wrath (krodha) is a powerful force that should be governed by dharma rather than impulse.
A warrior figure arms himself—grasping a gold-backed bow and preparing deadly arrows—and then advances boldly, described through vivid similes: enraged like a lion and unstoppable like a musth elephant.
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