Adhyaya 249

Lord Agni begins this Dhanurveda lesson with preparatory rites and readiness of equipment: the bow is made to proper full length, purified, and set within a sacrificial setting, showing martial training to be grounded in dharma. The archer then follows a strict sequence—take the arrow, bind the quiver-strap on the right, draw the arrow with the right hand while keeping the gaze locked on the target, lift the bow with the left, and nock the arrow firmly (including use of the siṃhakarṇa implement for secure seating). Skill is joined to inner discipline: the mind must not sink, it must stay fixed on the mark, and release is made from the correct bodily point on the right side. Practice advances through defined target-forms (including measured marks such as the sixteen-aṅgula candraka), post-release control drills (ulkā-śikṣā), and increasingly complex shots—eye-marks, square targets, turning shots, moving shots, and low/high piercings. Targets are classified as firm (dṛḍha), difficult (duṣkara), and wonderfully difficult (citra-duṣkara), with training prescribed on both right and left and with stable target mounting. The chapter culminates by linking procedural mastery (karma-yoga-vidhi) with yogic education: disciplined mind and gaze, and conquest of yama, uniting martial excellence with spiritual self-restraint.