Shloka 39
(तथा पुनर्जघानाशु पाण्डवानां महारथान् | शरैरशनिकल्पैश्न शिताग्रैश्न सुपर्वभि: ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
tathā punar jaghānāśu pāṇḍavānāṁ mahārathān |
śarair aśanikalpaiś ca śitāgraiś ca suparvabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then again, with swift force, he struck down the great chariot-warriors of the Pāṇḍavas, showering them with arrows like thunderbolts—keen-pointed and well-jointed—so that the battlefield seemed to turn into a storm of iron. The passage underscores the moral pressure of war: even the mightiest are made vulnerable by relentless violence, and the duty of protection falls upon those capable of rescuing allies from despair.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of dharma in war: skill and duty manifest as relentless force, yet such force creates suffering that demands counter-duty—protection and rescue of one’s side. It frames martial excellence as ethically weighty, not merely triumphant.
Sañjaya reports that the opposing commander again rapidly assails the Pāṇḍava elite with thunderbolt-like, sharp, well-made arrows, intensifying the crisis on the battlefield and setting the stage for a response by protectors on the Pāṇḍava side.