Shloka 11
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
निहत्य नागं तु शरेण तेन वज्रोपमेनाद्रिवराम्बुदा भम् । तथाविधेनैव शरेण पार्थो दुर्योधनं वक्षसि निर्बिभेद
nihatya nāgaṃ tu śareṇa tena vajropamenādrivarāmbudābham | tathāvidhenaiva śareṇa pārtho duryodhanaṃ vakṣasi nirbibheda ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Matapos mapatay ang malaking elepante sa pamamagitan ng palasong iyon—tigas na parang vajra at wari’y bundok at nagkakapal na ulap ng ulan—si Pārtha (Arjuna) ay gumamit pa ng isa pang palasong katulad nito at tinuhog ang dibdib ni Duryodhana. Ipinakikita ng tagpong ito ang walang-humpay na agos ng digmaan: ang galing at paninindigan ang nagtutulak sa pangyayari, samantalang ang tahimik na tensiyong moral ng dahas at mga bunga nito ay nananatiling nakatago sa ilalim ng salaysay na makabayaning himig.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the force and inevitability of martial action once battle is joined: skill and resolve can be decisive, yet the narration also invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the chain of consequences it sets in motion.
After killing a powerful elephant with a thunderbolt-like arrow, Arjuna (Pārtha) immediately follows with a similar arrow and strikes Duryodhana, piercing him in the chest, as described by the narrator Vaiśampāyana.