Shloka 26
Bhīṣma’s Stuti of Keśava and Counsel on Nara–Nārāyaṇa (भीष्म-स्तवः; नरनारायण-प्रसङ्गः)
ततः प्रहस्याद्भुतविक्रमेण गाण्डीवमुक्तेन शिलाशितेन । विपाठजालेन महास्त्रजालं विनाशयामास किरीटमाली
tataḥ prahasyādbhuta-vikrameṇa gāṇḍīva-muktena śilāśitena | vipāṭha-jālena mahāstra-jālaṁ vināśayāmāsa kirīṭamālī ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da zerschmetterte Arjuna, der Diademtragende, lächelnd und von wunderbarer Tapferkeit, das gewaltige Netz mächtiger feindlicher Geschosse mit Salven von Vipāṭha-Pfeilen—Pfeilen, die vom Gāṇḍīva gelöst und am Stein geschärft waren. Die Szene hebt hervor, wie disziplinierte Meisterschaft und Geistesgegenwart im Kampf selbst überwältigende Gewalt neutralisieren können.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violence, the epic highlights disciplined mastery and clarity of mind: Arjuna’s controlled skill neutralizes a dangerous barrage, suggesting that power guided by training and steadiness can prevent greater harm and restore balance in a dharma-framed conflict.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna smiling as he unleashes stone-honed Vipāṭha arrows from the Gāṇḍīva, cutting down and destroying the opposing side’s large-scale barrage—an ‘astra-net’—thereby turning back a formidable weapons assault.