Shloka 42
अध्याय ५८ — वानरध्वजस्य महेन्द्रास्त्रप्रयोगः
Chapter 58: Arjuna’s Deployment of the Indra-Weapon
एवं तौ स्वर्णविकृतान् विमुञज्चन्ती महाशरान् । आकाशं संवृतं वीरावुल्काभिरिव चक्रतु:,इस प्रकार वे दोनों वीर सुवर्णविभूषित महाबाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए आकाशको मानो उल्काओंसे आच्छादित करने लगे
evaṃ tau svarṇa-vikṛtān vimuñcantī mahā-śarān | ākāśaṃ saṃvṛtaṃ vīrāv ulkābhir iva cakratuḥ ||
వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—ఇలా ఆ ఇద్దరు వీరులు స్వర్ణవిభూషిత మహాబాణాలను విడిచుచూ, ఆకాశాన్ని ఉల్కలతో కప్పబడినట్టుగా చేసిరి.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily conveys the epic’s reflection on the sheer momentum of violence once combat intensifies: skill and splendor (gold-adorned arrows) can magnify destruction, turning war into an awe-inspiring spectacle. Implicitly, it cautions that heroic display, when unmoored from restraint, can overwhelm the world around it—symbolized by the sky itself being ‘covered’.
Two opposing warriors are exchanging a heavy volley of powerful arrows decorated with gold. Their rapid, dense missile-fire is so intense that it appears to blanket the sky, compared to a shower of meteors.