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
ക്ഷുരപ്രം, വിശിഖം, ഭല്ലം, വത്സദന്തം എന്നിവയാലും ഇരുമ്പായുധങ്ങളാലും—
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.