Shloka 91
इन्द्रध्वज इवोत्सृष्ट: केतु: सर्वधनुष्मताम् | धरणीं न स पस्पर्श शरसंघै: समावृत:
sañjaya uvāca | indradhvaja ivotsṛṣṭaḥ ketuḥ sarvadhanuṣmatām | dharaṇīṃ na sa pasparśa śarasaṅghaiḥ samāvṛtaḥ ||
ইন্দ্রধ্বজের মতো নিক্ষিপ্ত সেই কেতু—সমস্ত ধনুর্ধরদের মধ্যে শ্রেষ্ঠ—তীরের ঘন সমাবেশে চারদিকে আবৃত থাকায় ভূমি স্পর্শ করল না।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: even the most eminent warrior is reduced to a body pinned by arrows. It invites reflection on the cost of kṣatriya glory and the suffering that accompanies martial duty.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior—implicitly Bhīṣma in this episode—falling like a cut-down banner. His body is so densely transfixed by arrows that, even after falling, he does not physically touch the earth.