Shloka 22
अभिमन्यु-पराक्रमवर्णनम्
Abhimanyu’s Prowess and the Duḥśāsana Engagement
शरान् विचित्रान् सुबहून् रुक्मपुड्खाज्छिलाशितान् | मुमोच शतश:ः क्रुद्धो गभस्तीनिव भास्कर:,जैसे सूर्य अपनी सहस्रों किरणोंको सब ओर बिखेर देते हैं, उसी प्रकार क्रोधमें भरा हुआ अभिमन्यु सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए सुवर्णमय पंखसे युक्त सैकड़ों विचित्र एवं बहुसंख्यक बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगा
śarān vicitrān subahūn rukmapuṅkhāc chilāśitān | mumoca śataśaḥ kruddho gabhastīn iva bhāskaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Abhimanyu loosed hundreds upon hundreds of arrows—variegated, countless, with golden fletching and honed upon the whetstone—scattering them in every direction like the Sun casting forth its rays. The verse reveals the dreadful momentum of wrath in battle: skill and brilliance, when driven by anger, become a flood that overwhelms the field and multiplies harm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger amplifies destructive capacity: even admirable prowess, when fueled by wrath, becomes an indiscriminate shower of harm—suggesting the ethical need to govern krodha (anger) even amid kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu, furious in combat, unleashing a massive volley of sharpened, gold-fletched arrows in all directions, compared to the Sun spreading its rays.