Shloka 6
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
धारयामास तत् कृष्ण: परसेना भयावहम् । गाण्डीवं पावकाललेभे खाण्डवे पाकशासनि:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhārayāmāsa tat kṛṣṇaḥ parasenā-bhayāvaham |
gāṇḍīvaṃ pāvakāl lebhe khāṇḍave pākaśāsaniḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Kṛṣṇa mang lấy vũ khí đáng sợ ấy, khiến quân địch kinh hãi. Còn Arjuna, kẻ trừng phạt quân thù, đã nhận được cung Gāṇḍīva trực tiếp từ Thần Lửa Agni vào lúc thiêu đốt rừng Khāṇḍava.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that extraordinary power—symbolized by divinely sourced weapons—carries moral weight. Such strength is not for vanity or cruelty but is to be exercised as a sacred trust in the service of dharma, especially in the grave context of war.
The narrator recalls how Kṛṣṇa bears a weapon that terrifies enemy ranks, and how Arjuna came to possess the famed bow Gāṇḍīva from Agni during the Khāṇḍava forest conflagration—highlighting the formidable, divinely connected armament of the Pāṇḍava side.