Shloka 24
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १८: संशप्तकगणयुद्धे अर्जुनस्यास्त्रप्रयोगः
Drona Parva, Chapter 18: Arjuna’s astra-deployment against the Saṃśaptakas
ततो जघान संक्रुद्धो वासविस्तां महाचमूम् । शरजालैरविच्छिन्नैस्तम: सूर्य इवांशुभि:,/2//00॥७५७७२६० ; के 2४ पर ३00४६ ९ तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए इन्द्रकुमार अर्जुनने बाणसमूहोंकी अविच्छिन्न वर्षा करके उस विशाल वाहिनीका उसी प्रकार संहार आरम्भ किया, जैसे सूर्यदेव अपनी किरणोंद्वारा महान् अन्धकारका नाश करते हैं
tato jaghāna saṅkruddho vāsavistāṁ mahācamūm | śarajālair avicchinnais tamaḥ sūrya ivāṁśubhiḥ ||
Then Arjuna, inflamed with wrath, began to strike down that vast host of warriors. With an unbroken downpour of arrow-nets he commenced its destruction, just as the sun dispels great darkness with its rays.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a moral-psychological metaphor: Arjuna’s overwhelming martial action is likened to the sun removing darkness. In epic ethics, this frames decisive force in war as a clarifying, irresistible power—suggesting that when duty-bound conflict is underway, hesitation and disorder (symbolized as darkness) are driven out by resolute action.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, angered, attacks a large enemy formation. He releases continuous volleys—‘nets’ of arrows—so dense that the army’s destruction begins swiftly, compared to darkness being dispelled by sunlight.