Shloka 103
Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption
संदधे परवीरघ्न: कालाग्न्यनिलवर्चसम् | 'यदि तू युद्ध छोड़कर भाग नहीं जायगा तो आज मेरे हाथसे जीवित नहीं छूट सकेगा।” ऐसा कहकर शत्रुवीरोंका नाश करनेवाले महाबाहु अभिमन्युने काल, अग्नि और वायुके समान तेजस्वी बाणका संधान किया, जो दुःशासनके प्राण लेनेमें समर्थ था
saṃdadhe paravīraghnaḥ kālāgnyanilavarcasaṃ | “yadi tvaṃ yuddhaṃ tyaktvā bhāga na yāsyasi, tarhy adya mama hastād jīvito na mokṣyase” iti uktvā śatruvīranāśano mahābāhur abhimanyur kāla-agni-anila-samatejasaṃ bāṇaṃ saṃdadhe, yaḥ duḥśāsanasya prāṇaharaṇe samarthaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Declaring, “If you do not abandon the fight and flee, you will not escape alive from my hands today,” Abhimanyu—mighty-armed and a slayer of enemy champions—set an arrow to his bow, blazing like Time, fire, and wind, an arrow capable of taking Duḥśāsana’s life. The moment frames the grim ethics of battlefield resolve: a vow-like warning, followed by decisive action aimed at ending a dangerous foe.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the severe moral atmosphere of Kurukṣetra: a warrior’s duty-driven resolve can harden into a life-or-death ultimatum. It invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma—steadfastness and protection of one’s side—while also showing how Kāla (Time/fate) and destructive forces (fire, wind) are invoked to portray the inevitability and cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu warning Duḥśāsana that fleeing is his only chance to live; then Abhimanyu prepares a fearsome arrow, described as blazing like Time, fire, and wind, intended to kill Duḥśāsana.