Shloka 38
स चापि कुरुमुख्यानामृषभ: पाण्डवेरितान् । शरव्रातै: शरब्रातान् बहुधा विदुधाव तान्,कुरुश्रष्ठ वीरोंमें प्रधान भीष्मने भी अपने बाणसमूहोंद्वारा अर्जुनके चलाये हुए बाणसमुदायके टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर दिये
sa cāpi kurumukhyānām ṛṣabhaḥ pāṇḍaveritān | śaravrātaiḥ śaravrātān bahudhā vidudhāva tān ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīṣma too—foremost among the Kurus, a bull among men—shattered in many ways the volleys of arrows launched by the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna), cutting those arrow-clusters to pieces with his own dense showers.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: on the battlefield, excellence and resolve are met with equal force. It reflects the ethic that a warrior must respond to aggression with skillful defense and counteraction, even when the opponents are revered or closely related.
During the Kurukṣetra battle, Arjuna releases dense volleys of arrows. Bhīṣma, described as the foremost Kuru warrior, counters by firing his own arrow-showers and repeatedly breaks Arjuna’s arrow-clusters into fragments.