Shloka 76
निवातकवचवधः — Arjuna’s Neutralization of the Nivātakavacas
Vajra-astra deployment
फिर उन्होंने मेरे स्वरूपके अनुरूप प्रत्येक अंगमें आभूषण पहना दिये। इसके बाद यह अभेद्य उत्तम कवच धारण कराया, जिसका स्पर्श तथा रूप मनोहर है ।। अजरां ज्यामिमां चापि गाण्डीवे समयोजयत् । ततः प्रायामहं तेन स्यन्दनेन विराजता,तत्पश्चात् मेरे गाण्डीव धनुषमें उन्होंने यह अटूट प्रत्यज्चा जोड़ दी। इस प्रकार युद्धकी सामग्रियोंसे सम्पन्न होकर उस तेजस्वी रथके द्वारा मैं संग्रामके लिये प्रस्थित हुआ, जिसपर आरूढ़ होकर पूर्वकालमें देवराजने विरोचनकुमार बलिको परास्त किया था। महाराज! तब उस रथकी घर्घराहटसे सजग हो सब देवता मुझे देवराज समझकर मेरे पास आये और मुझे देखकर पूछने लगे--'अर्जुन! तुम क्या करनेकी तैयारीमें हो?”
Arjuna uvāca—
Ajarāṃ jyām imāṃ cāpi Gāṇḍīve samayojayat |
Tataḥ prayāmahaṃ tena syandanena virājatā |
Yenāroḍhena pūrvaṃ vai devarājo Balīṃ jayat |
Tasya ghoṣaṃ niśamyātha sarve devāḥ samutthitāḥ |
Indram eva matiṃ kṛtvā mām upetya vyapṛcchan |
“Arjuna, kiṃ nu kartum ārabdhavān asi?” iti ||
Arjuna said: “He then fitted onto my Gāṇḍīva bow this unaging, unbreakable bowstring. Thereafter, fully equipped for battle, I set out in that splendid chariot—the very one by mounting which the lord of the gods had once defeated Bali, the son of Virocana. Hearing the chariot’s thunderous rumble, all the gods became alert; taking me for Indra himself, they approached and, on recognizing me, asked: ‘Arjuna, what undertaking are you preparing for?’” Ethically, the passage frames Arjuna’s martial readiness not as personal aggression but as a sanctioned, duty-bound enterprise under divine auspices: the weapons and chariot symbolize responsibility, restraint, and the gravity of righteous warfare rather than mere power.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and martial capability are portrayed as meaningful only when aligned with dharma: Arjuna’s equipment is not mere ornamentation but a sign of disciplined readiness for a duty-bound mission under divine sanction.
Arjuna is being fully armed—his Gāṇḍīva receives an unaging, unbreakable bowstring, and he departs in a radiant chariot once used by Indra to defeat Bali. The chariot’s roar alerts the gods, who approach thinking Indra has arrived, and they ask Arjuna what he is about to undertake.