Shloka 62
सा निर्भिद्य भुजं सव्यं पाण्डवस्य महात्मन:
sā nirbhidya bhujaṃ savyaṃ pāṇḍavasya mahātmanaḥ, nipapāta tadā bhūmau yathā vidyunnabhaścyutā |
Sañjaya said: That spear, having pierced the left arm of the great-souled Pāṇḍava, fell at once to the ground—like a lightning-flash dropping from the sky. The scene underscores the brutal immediacy of war: even mighty warriors are subject to sudden injury, and the battlefield turns on a single, fateful strike.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark ethics of the battlefield: in kṣatriya warfare, decisive action and endurance amid sudden harm are expected, while the imagery of lightning suggests the unpredictability and inevitability of injury and reversal in war.
A powerful spear (śakti) strikes and pierces the Pāṇḍava’s left arm (contextually Bhīma), then immediately drops to the ground, compared to lightning falling from the sky—marking a dramatic, wounding moment in the combat.