Shloka 8
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
पार्थेन सृष्ट: स तु गार्ध्रपत्र आपुड्खदेशात् प्रविवेश नागम् | विदार्य शैलप्रवरं प्रकाशं यथाशनि: पर्वतमिन्द्रसृष्ट:,पार्थका छोड़ा हुआ वह गीध पक्षीके परोंवाला बाण उस हाथीके मस्तकमें पंखसहित घुस गया; मानो इन्द्रका चलाया हुआ वज्र किसी प्रकाशपूर्ण गिरिराजको विदीर्ण करके उसके भीतर समा गया हो
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
pārthena sṛṣṭaḥ sa tu gārdhrapatra āpuḍkhadeśāt praviveśa nāgam |
vidārya śailapravaraṃ prakāśaṃ yathāśaniḥ parvatam indrasṛṣṭaḥ ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: A flecha lançada por Pārtha, emplumada com penas de abutre, entrou no elefante na região da têmpora, afundando até as próprias penas. Era como se o vajra de Indra tivesse fendido um senhor das montanhas, radiante de luz, e depois desaparecido no seu próprio coração—imagem de uma força irresistível a enfrentar o orgulho da potência bruta.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming efficacy of disciplined martial prowess: when power is guided by mastery (and not mere rage), it becomes decisive and precise—symbolized by the arrow’s clean penetration and the comparison to Indra’s vajra.
Arjuna (Pārtha) shoots a vulture-feathered arrow that pierces an elephant at the temple region, entering so deeply that even the feathers go in; the poet intensifies the scene by likening it to Indra’s thunderbolt splitting a shining mountain and vanishing into it.