Shloka 15
Bhagadatta’s Astra and the Fall of the Prāgjyotiṣa King (भगदत्त-वधः / वैष्णवास्त्र-प्रसङ्गः)
यत् तदानामयज्जिष्णुर्भरतानामपापिनाम् । धनु: क्षेमकरं संख्ये द्विषतामश्रुवर्धनम्,महाराज! विजयी अर्जुनने युद्धमें शत्रुओंकी अश्रुधाराको बढ़ानेवाले जिस धनुषको कभी निष्पाप भरतवंशियोंका कल्याण करनेके लिये नवाया था, उसीको कपटटद्यूत खेलनेवाले आपके पुत्रके अपराधके कारण सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रियोंका विनाश करनेके लिये हाथमें लिया
yat tadānāmayaj jiṣṇur bharatānām apāpinām | dhanuḥ kṣemakaraṃ saṅkhye dviṣatām aśruvardhanam, mahārāja |
Sañjaya said: “O King, that very bow which the unconquerable Arjuna once bent for the welfare and protection of the sinless Bharatas—bringing safety in battle for his own—has now become, in the clash of armies, a cause for swelling the tears of enemies.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and skill meant for protection can, under the pressure of adharma and conflict, become instruments of widespread suffering; the verse highlights moral causality—wrong choices in governance and conduct lead to war’s grief.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna taking up and bending his famed bow in battle: once used for the welfare of the Bharata lineage, it now brings defeat and tears to enemies amid the Kurukṣetra war.