Shloka 17
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
शिखण्डिनस्ततो बाणान् कृप: शारद्वतो युधि । प्राहिणोत् त्वरया युक्तो दिधक्षुरिव मारिष
śikhaṇḍinas tato bāṇān kṛpaḥ śāradvato yudhi | prāhiṇot tvarayā yukto didhakṣur iva māriṣa ||
قال سانجيا: ثم في ساحة القتال، أطلق كِرِبا شارادفاتا سهامًا على شيخاندين بسرعة، كأنه يريد أن يحرقه حرقًا.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uncompromising momentum of dharma-as-duty in war: a veteran like Kṛpa, bound to his side and role, acts with decisive force. It also reflects how strategic enmities and reputations (Śikhaṇḍin’s significance in the wider conflict) intensify actions, raising implicit questions about proportionality and the moral weight of battlefield necessity.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛpa Śāradvata, in the thick of combat, rapidly shoots arrows at Śikhaṇḍin, described with a simile—‘as if wishing to burn him’—to convey speed, anger, and lethal intent.