Shloka 102
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
अनालब्धं जृम्भति गाण्डिवं धनु- रनाहता कम्पति मे धरनुर्ज्या बाणाश्व मे तृणमुखाद् विसृत्य मुहुर्मुहुर्गन्तुमुशन्ति चैव,“गाण्डीव धनुष बिना स्पर्श किये ही तना जा रहा है, मेरे धनुषकी डोरी बिना खींचे ही हिलने लगी है और मेरे बाण बार-बार तरकससे निकलकर शत्रुओंकी ओर जानेके लिये उतावले हो रहे हैं
anālabdhaṃ jṛmbhati gāṇḍīvaṃ dhanur anāhatā kampati me dhanuḥjyā | bāṇāś ca me tṛṇamukhād visṛtya muhur muhur gantum uśanti caiva ||
Sañjaya said: “Without being grasped, the Gāṇḍīva bow seems to draw itself; without being struck, the bowstring on my bow trembles. And my arrows, slipping out again and again from the quiver, appear eager to rush toward the enemy.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata motif of portents: when adharma-driven conflict nears its climax, even weapons and the body seem to signal an inevitable, morally weighty confrontation. It underscores the gravity of war and the sense that events are moving beyond ordinary human control.
Sañjaya reports ominous signs: the famed Gāṇḍīva appears to tense on its own, the bowstring trembles without cause, and arrows repeatedly slip from the quiver as if impatient to fly toward enemies—suggesting imminent battle and heightened tension.