Mahabharata 6.116.42 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 42
भीष्मस्य जलप्रार्थना — अर्जुनस्य पर्जन्यास्त्रप्रयोगः — दुर्योधनं प्रति सन्ध्युपदेशः
Bhīṣma’s request for water; Arjuna’s Parjanya-astra; counsel to Duryodhana on reconciliation
स बिभेद शतघ्नीं च नवभि: कड्कपत्रिभि: | मद्रराजप्रयुक्तं च शरं छित्त्वा महारथ:
sa bibheda śataghnīṃ ca navabhiḥ kaṅkapatribhiḥ | madrarāja-prayuktaṃ ca śaraṃ chittvā mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The great chariot-warrior shattered the śataghnī as well with nine arrows feathered with heron-plumes; and, cutting down the arrow discharged by the king of Madra, he continued to dominate the exchange. The scene underscores the disciplined skill of a kṣatriya in battle—meeting lethal force with measured counter-force, where mastery and alertness become the means of survival amid the moral gravity of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Within the battlefield frame, the verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma as disciplined responsiveness: even amid lethal conflict, the warrior’s duty is expressed through alertness, precision, and controlled counteraction rather than reckless aggression.
Sañjaya reports that an elite warrior destroys a formidable śataghnī with nine specially fletched arrows and then intercepts—by cutting down—the arrow shot by the king of Madra, showing superiority in the ongoing duel.
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