Shloka 60
वसुदेव–अर्जुन संवादः
Vasudeva–Arjuna Dialogue in the Aftermath of Dvārakā
ततो गाण्डीवनिर्मुक्ति: शरै: पार्थो धनंजय: । जधान दस्यून् सोद्ठेगो वृष्णिभृत्यै: सहस्रश:,तब कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुन उद्विग्न होकर सहस्रों वृष्णिसैनिकोंको साथ ले गाण्डीव धनुषसे छूटे हुए बाणोंद्वारा उन लुटेरोंके प्राण लेने लगे
tato gāṇḍīva-nirmuktiḥ śaraiḥ pārtho dhanañjayaḥ | jadhāna dasyūn sodvego vṛṣṇi-bhṛtyaiḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
Então Pārtha Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), com flechas disparadas do Gāṇḍīva, abateu os bandidos em grande número. Agitado e alarmado, combateu ao lado de milhares de servidores vṛṣṇis.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in a time of disorder: when society is threatened by lawless violence, protection of dependents becomes a moral imperative, even if it requires force. It also foreshadows the waning of heroic efficacy in the Mausala narrative, where the old order and its protections begin to fail.
As bandits (dasyus) attack, Arjuna—called Pārtha and Dhanañjaya—responds by releasing arrows from his bow Gāṇḍīva and killing many of them. He fights in an agitated state together with thousands of Vṛṣṇi retainers, attempting to defend the Vṛṣṇi people amid chaos.