Shloka 15
Aśvamedha-dīkṣā, Vyāsa’s horse-release, and Arjuna’s departure with Gāṇḍīva (आश्वमेधिक-दीक्षा तथा हय-उत्सर्गः)
जिष्णु: सहिष्णुर्धुष्णुश्न स एनं पालयिष्यति । शक्तः स हि महीं जेतुं निवातकवचान्तकः
jiṣṇuḥ sahiṣṇur dhuṣṇuś ca sa enaṃ pālayiṣyati | śaktaḥ sa hi mahīṃ jetuṃ nivātakavacāntakaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Si Jishnu—matiisin, matatag, at di matinag—ang magtatanggol sa kabayong ito. Sapagkat tunay siyang may lakas na lupigin ang daigdig, siya ang pumatay sa mga Nivātakavaca.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic fitness for responsibility: the one entrusted with safeguarding a royal-sacrificial mission should possess proven valor, endurance, and steadiness. Past righteous victories (like defeating the Nivātakavacas) serve as ethical credentials for present duty.
In the context of the Aśvamedha, the speaker identifies Arjuna as the proper guardian of the sacrificial horse, emphasizing his qualities and his earlier feat of destroying the Nivātakavacas, thereby affirming his capacity to face any challengers during the horse’s roaming.