Shloka 59
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
व्यधमच्छरवर्षेण स्मयन्निव धनंजय: । भारत! सूतपुत्रद्वारा की हुई उस बाण-वर्षाको अर्जुनने मुसकराते हुए-से बाणोंकी वृष्टि करके नष्ट कर दिया ।। तौ परस्परमासाद्य शरवर्षेण पार्थिव
vyadhamaccharavarṣeṇa smayann iva dhanañjayaḥ | bhārata! sūtaputreṇa kṛtaṃ tad bāṇa-varṣam arjunena smayamānena iva bāṇānāṃ vṛṣṭyā vināśitam || tau parasparam āsādya śaravarṣeṇa pārthiva ...
Sañjaya sprach: O Bhārata, Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) zerschlug, als lächle er, den Pfeilsturm, den der Sohn des Wagenlenkers (Karna) entfesselt hatte, indem er seinen eigenen Regen von Geschossen ergoss. So, einander von Angesicht zu Angesicht begegnend, bedrängten die beiden Krieger sich mit Strömen von Pfeilen—ein Bild unerbittlicher Kampfentschlossenheit, in der Können und Selbstbeherrschung, nicht bloßer Zorn, die Gewalt des Krieges lenken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid extreme violence, the epic highlights disciplined agency: Arjuna’s ‘as if smiling’ composure suggests mastery over fear and anger. The ethical emphasis is that power in war should be governed by self-control and trained skill, aligning with kṣatriya-dharma rather than uncontrolled wrath.
Karna unleashes a dense barrage of arrows at Arjuna. Arjuna counters with an even more effective shower, dispersing and nullifying Karna’s attack. The verse then transitions to the image of both warriors closing in and continuing a mutual exchange of arrow-torrents.