Shloka 17
Pāṇḍya-vadha-anantaram Arjunasya Pravṛttiḥ
Arjuna’s Response and the Renewed Battle
नाप्याददत् संदधन्नैव मुछचन् बाणान् रथेडदृश्यत सव्यसाची । रथांश्व नागांस्तुरगान् पदातीन् संस्यूतदेहान् ददृशुर्हतांश्ष
nāpy ādadat saṃdadhann eva muñcan bāṇān rathe 'dṛśyata savyasācī | rathāṃś ca nāgāṃs turagān padātīn saṃsyūtadehān dadṛśur hatāṃś ca ||
Sañjaya said: Even as he sat upon his chariot, Arjuna—the ambidextrous archer—could not be seen taking arrows from the quiver, fitting them to the bow, or releasing them. People saw only the result: charioteers, elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers, their bodies as if stitched through by his shafts, fallen lifeless.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill in war can become almost invisible in its mechanics and visible only in its consequences. Ethically, it points to the tension in kṣatriya-dharma: even when fighting is duty-bound, the devastation inflicted is real and sobering.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna’s archery is so swift that observers cannot perceive the steps of drawing, nocking, and releasing arrows. They only witness the aftermath—enemy forces across all arms (chariots, elephants, cavalry, infantry) struck down with bodies riddled by arrows.