Shloka 43
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
प्रायच्छद् द्विषतां हन्त्रीं कुण्डलाभ्यां पुरंदर: । यस्य सर्पमुखो दिव्य: शर: काउज्चनभूषण:
prāyacchad dviṣatāṁ hantrīṁ kuṇḍalābhyāṁ purandaraḥ | yasya sarpamukho divyaḥ śaraḥ kāñcanabhūṣaṇaḥ ||
Wika ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Ipinagkaloob ni Purandara (Indra), kapalit ng pares ng hikaw, ang sandatang pumupuksa sa kaaway—isang palasong makalangit, may bungangang gaya ng ahas at pinalamutian ng ginto.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ambiguity of ‘giving’ when it occurs within manipulation and wartime strategy: a gift or exchange can appear virtuous yet function as a means to empower violence, showing how dharma can be tested by context, intention, and consequence.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Indra (Purandara) grants an enemy-destroying divine arrow—serpent-mouthed and gold-adorned—in connection with the exchange involving a pair of earrings, situating the weapon’s origin within a consequential bargain.