Shloka 176
अर्द्यमाना: शरैस्तूर्ण न्न्यपतन् पाण्डुसैनिका: । आपके धरनुर्धर पुत्रके द्वारा चलाये हुए सुवर्णमय पंख तथा चमकती हुई धारवाले बाणोंसे पीड़ित होकर बहुतेरे पाण्डव-सैनिक तुरंत धराशायी हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | ardyamānāḥ śarais tūrṇaṃ nyapatan pāṇḍu-sainikāḥ | āpake dhanuḥ-dhara putrake dvārā calāye hue suvarṇa-maya pakṣa tathā camakatī huī dhārā-vāle bāṇoṃ se pīḍita hokara bahutere pāṇḍava-sainika turanta dharāśāyī ho gaye |
Sañjaya sprach: Von schnellen Pfeilen getroffen und bedrängt, stürzten die Soldaten des Pāṇḍu-Heeres sogleich zu Boden. Gequält von den Geschossen, die dein bogenführender Sohn abschoss—Pfeile mit goldschimmernden Federn und glänzenden, rasiermesserscharfen Schneiden—wurden viele Pāṇḍava-Krieger rasch auf die Erde gestreckt.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immediate human cost of warfare and the ethical tension inherent in kshatriya conflict: skill and duty can produce swift victory, yet the suffering inflicted remains morally weighty. It invites reflection on responsibility and the gravity of violence even when performed under the banner of duty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the Pandava troops are being rapidly cut down. They fall quickly under a barrage of sharp, gleaming arrows—described as having golden wings—shot by Dhritarashtra’s son (contextually, Duryodhana) acting as an archer on the battlefield.