Shloka 4

Adhyāya 195 — Arjuna’s Capability and Restraint Regarding Divyāstras

Udyoga Parva

Devanagari script

ते शूराश्नित्रवर्माणस्तप्तकुण्डलधारिण: । आज्यावसिक्ता ज्वलिता धिष्ण्येष्विव हुताशना:

Transliteration

te śūrāś chitravarmāṇas taptakuṇḍaladhāriṇaḥ | ājyāvasiktā jvalitā dhiṣṇyeṣv iva hutāśanāḥ ||

Translation

அந்த சூரர்கள் ஒளிரும் கவசம் அணிந்து, தீப்போல் மின்னும் குண்டலங்களைத் தரித்து, வேதிகளில் நெய் ஊற்றி மேலும் எரியும் ஹுதாசன அக்கினிகளைப் போலப் பிரகாசித்தனர்।

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

शूराःheroes, brave men

अश्नित्रवर्माणःwearing/possessing armor with neck-guard (gorgeted armor)

तप्तकुण्डलधारिणःwearing heated/gleaming earrings

आज्यावसिक्ताःsprinkled/anointed with ghee

ज्वलिताःblazing, flaming

धिष्ण्येषुon the hearths/altars (fire-places)

इवlike, as if

हुताशनाःfires (Agni), eaters of oblations

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

hutāśana (Agni/fire)

dhiṣṇya (sacrificial hearth/altar)

ājya (ghee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames warrior radiance and readiness through sacrificial symbolism: disciplined power is likened to sacred fire sustained by proper offering. It suggests that force, when aligned with dharma and restraint, is envisioned as purposeful and ritually ordered rather than chaotic.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a group of heroes assembled in the Udyoga Parva context, emphasizing their brilliant appearance—armor and earrings shining—by comparing them to altar-fires blazing after being fed with ghee.