Shloka 8
Adhyāya 55: Pārtha–Rādheya Saṃvāda and Tactical Exchange
Chapter 55
तानि ग्रस्तान्यनीकानि रेजुरर्जुनमार्गणै: । शैलं प्रति बला भ्राणि व्याप्तानीवार्करश्मिभि:,अर्जुनके बाणोंसे आच्छादित हुई कौरवोंकी सेना इस प्रकार सुशोभित हुई, मानो पर्वतके निकट नवीन मेघोंकी घटा सूर्यकी किरणोंसे व्याप्त हो गयी हो
tāni grastāny anīkāni rejur arjuna-mārgaṇaiḥ | śailaṁ prati balā bhrāṇi vyāptānīva arka-raśmibhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: As formações de batalha dos Kaurava, ao serem tomadas e cobertas pelas flechas de Arjuna, brilhavam com um fulgor estranho — como massas novas de nuvens reunidas junto a uma montanha, impregnadas por completo pelos raios do sol. A imagem ressalta como a perícia disciplinada na guerra pode parecer radiante mesmo enquanto subjuga a força adversária.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that kṣatriya prowess, when exercised with mastery and purpose, carries a kind of ‘radiance’—yet that radiance is ethically ambivalent, because it is inseparable from the act of overwhelming and harming others in war.
In the Virāṭa episode’s battle context, Arjuna’s volleys of arrows cover and dominate the opposing Kaurava formations; the narrator describes the scene through a vivid simile: cloud-masses near a mountain lit through by sunlight.