Shloka 9
प्राग्ज्योतिषे वज्रदत्त-धनंजय-समागमः
Vajradatta Confronts Dhanaṃjaya at Prāgjyotiṣa
ततल्त्रिगर्तराजानं सूर्यवर्माणमाहवे । विचित्य शरजालेन प्रजहास धनंजय:,तब उस युद्धस्थलमें त्रिगर्तराज सूर्यव्माके सारे अंगोंमें बाण धँसाकर अर्जुन हँसने लगे
tatra trigartarājānaṃ sūryavarmāṇam āhave | vicitya śarajālena prajahāsa dhanañjayaḥ ||
Di sana, di medan perang, Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) memilih sasaran—raja Trigarta, Sūryavarman—lalu menutupi tubuhnya dengan jaring anak panah; kemudian Arjuna tertawa, menandakan keunggulannya yang nyata dan putaran nasib perang yang berubah dengan pantas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic (kṣatriya-dharma): decisive skill and dominance in battle can quickly shift outcomes. It also implicitly cautions that martial confidence—here shown by Arjuna’s laughter—must remain aligned with disciplined conduct, since victory in war is ethically weighty and not merely a display of power.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Arjuna identifies the Trigarta king Sūryavarman in the fight, showers him with so many arrows that it is likened to a ‘net of arrows,’ and then laughs, indicating Arjuna’s upper hand and the opponent’s being overwhelmed.