Shloka 5
अध्याय ९१ — शैनेयस्य गजानीकभेदनं जलसंधवधश्च
Chapter 91: Sātyaki breaks the elephant array and slays Jalasaṃdha
ते चापि रथिन: सर्वे त्वरिता: कृतहस्तवत् । अवाकिरन् बाणजालैस्तत्र कृष्णधनंजयौ,उधर उन समस्त कौरव रथियोंने भी सिद्धहस्त पुरुषोंकी भाँति शीघ्रतापूर्वक अपने बाणसमूहोंद्वारा वहाँ श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनको आच्छादित कर दिया
te cāpi rathinaḥ sarve tvaritāḥ kṛtahastavat | avākiran bāṇajālais tatra kṛṣṇadhanañjayau ||
Sañjaya said: Those Kaurava chariot-warriors too, moving with swift precision like fully accomplished archers, showered dense nets of arrows there, covering Kṛṣṇa and Dhanañjaya (Arjuna). The scene underscores the impersonal ferocity of battlefield skill—where mastery and speed can momentarily eclipse discernment, and even the foremost heroes are tested by coordinated force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined skill and coordinated effort can create overwhelming pressure even against the greatest heroes; ethically, it points to the battlefield reality where prowess is often deployed without pause, testing steadiness, judgment, and resilience under sudden massed aggression.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava chariot-fighters rapidly unleash a concentrated barrage—‘nets’ of arrows—so dense that Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna appear covered/obscured by the missile storm in that moment of the battle.