Shloka 10
Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)
पश्यन्तः स्त्रीगणास्तत्र वज्रपाणिं सम मेनिरे । अयं स पुरुषव्यात्रो रणे वसुपराक्रम:
paśyantaḥ strīgaṇās tatra vajrapāṇiṃ sama menire | ayaṃ sa puruṣavyāghro raṇe vasuparākramaḥ ||
அங்கே பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருந்த பெண்கள் அவரை வஜ்ரபாணி (இந்திரன்) போல் எண்ணினர்—“இவனே அந்த மனிதப் புலி; போரில் இவனுடைய வீரியம் வசுக்களைப் போல அஞ்சமுடியாதது.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how heroic reputation is formed through public perception: valor in battle is praised as an ideal, and extraordinary human strength is measured against divine archetypes (Indra, the Vasus), reinforcing the epic’s cultural ethic of kṣātra-tejas (martial excellence).
Women onlookers observe a renowned warrior and, struck by his appearance and prowess, liken him to Indra (Vajrapāṇi) and acclaim him as a ‘tiger among men’ whose battlefield might matches that of the Vasus.