Shloka 9
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स वारणं नगप्रख्यं प्रभिन्नकरटामुखम् । प्रेषयामास संक्रुद्धः श्वेताश्वं प्रति पार्थिव:
sa vāraṇaṁ nagaprakhyaṁ prabhinnakaraṭāmukham | preṣayāmāsa saṅkruddhaḥ śvetāśvaṁ prati pārthivaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Trong cơn thịnh nộ, nhà vua sai xông lên một con voi lớn như núi, hai thái dương tuôn dòng nhựa động dục, lao thẳng về phía Śvetāśva—cỗ chiến xa của Arjuna mang cờ hiệu ngựa trắng.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how krodha (anger) can override discernment: a ruler, driven by rage, unleashes disproportionate force. In dharmic terms, power should be governed by self-control; otherwise, it intensifies harm and disorder.
The narrator states that an enraged king dispatches a massive rutting war-elephant—described as mountain-like and streaming temple-fluid—charging it toward Śvetāśva, i.e., Arjuna’s white-horsed chariot in the battle episode of the Aśvamedhika Parva.