Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
अर्जुन प्रति संरब्धो युद्धार्थी स महारथ: । महोदधिजमादाय दशध्मौ वेगेन वीर्यवान्
arjunaṃ prati saṃrabdho yuddhārthī sa mahārathaḥ | mahodadhijam ādāya daśadhmau vegena vīryavān ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Enfurecido contra Arjuna e ávido de combate, aquele grande guerreiro de carro tomou sua concha—nascida do grande oceano—e, cheio de vigor, soprou-a com força. O momento assinala como a proclamação de Arjuna (pela concha) provoca um ancião experiente a assumir abertamente a resolução marcial, deslocando a cena da contenção para a ética do combate inevitável entre kṣatriyas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
A martial signal (the conch) is not merely sound but a public declaration of intent; it can awaken pride, anger, and the kṣatriya obligation to respond. The verse highlights how inner emotions quickly translate into outward action in a dharma-bound battlefield context.
After Arjuna’s conch is sounded, an opposing great warrior becomes angry toward him, takes up his own ocean-born conch, and blows it powerfully—announcing readiness to fight and intensifying the confrontation.