Shloka 5
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
बाणजालं दिविच्छन्न॑ स्वर्णजालविभूषितम् । शुशुभे भरतश्रेष्ठ वितानमिव घिछितम्,भरतश्रेष्ठ! स्वर्णजाल-विभूषित वह बाणोंका जाल आकाशगमें फैलकर वहाँ तने हुए वितान (चँदोवे)-के समान सुशोभित होता था
sañjaya uvāca | bāṇajālaṃ divi cchannaṃ svarṇajāla-vibhūṣitam | śuśubhe bharataśreṣṭha vitānam iva gṛhchitam ||
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Bharatas, the net of arrows—spreading across the sky and adorned like a lattice of gold—shone brilliantly, resembling a canopy stretched overhead.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily heightens the ethical tension of war: martial prowess can appear dazzling and beautiful, yet it is made of weapons meant to kill. It implicitly reminds the listener that outward splendor in battle does not erase the grave moral weight of violence undertaken under kṣatriya-duty.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: a dense shower or spread of arrows fills the sky, glittering like a golden lattice, and looks like a canopy stretched overhead—an image conveying both intensity of combat and the overwhelming scale of missile warfare.