Shloka 15

Virāṭa’s Conciliation and Uttara’s Account of the Unseen Champion

Bṛhannadā/Arjuna

Devanagari script

ततः संछादयामास भीष्मं शरशतै: शितै: । पर्वतं वारिधाराभिश्छादयन्निव तोयद:,राजन! दाँयें-बाँयें बाण फेंकनेवाले पार्थके द्वारा घुमाया जाता हुआ गाण्डीव धनुष अलातचक्रके समान जान पड़ता था। तदनन्तर जैसे मेघ अपनी जलधाराओंसे पर्वतको भी आच्छादित कर देता है, उसी प्रकार अर्जुनने सैकड़ों पैने बाणोंसे भीष्मको ढँक दिया

Transliteration

tataḥ saṃchādayāmāsa bhīṣmaṃ śaraśataiḥ śitaiḥ | parvataṃ vāridhārābhiś chādayann iva toyadaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波罗衍那说：随后，阿周那以数百支锐箭遮覆毗湿摩，犹如含雨之云以万缕水幕掩蔽群山。此喻既显严整武艺之势不可当，亦暗示战争的悲剧伦理张力：当责任与时势逼迫交锋时，纵是最受敬仰的长者，也难免中箭受创。

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'saṃchādayāmāsa': 'covered, concealed completely (causative perfect of √chad)', 'bhīṣmam': 'Bhīṣma (the grandsire of the Kuru line)', 'śaraśataiḥ': 'with hundreds of arrows', 'śitaiḥ': 'sharp, whetted', 'parvatam': 'a mountain', 'vāridhārābhiḥ': 'with streams/sheets of water (rain-currents)', 'chādayan': 'covering, veiling', 'iva': 'as if, like', 'toyadaḥ': "a cloud (lit. 'water-giver')"}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Bhīṣma
• Arjuna
• śara (arrows)
• toyada (rain-cloud)
• parvata (mountain)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the power of focused skill and resolve in battle, while implicitly pointing to the ethical strain of kṣatriya-duty: even revered elders like Bhīṣma may become targets when one is bound to fight for a larger obligation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna unleashes a dense volley of sharp arrows that effectively 'covers' Bhīṣma, compared to a rain-cloud obscuring a mountain with heavy downpour.