Shloka 30
Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
स तदप्यस्य कौन्तेयश्चिच्छेद नतपर्वणा । एवमन्यानि चापानि बहूनि कृतहस्तवत् | शारद्वतस्य चिच्छेद पाण्डव: परवीरहा
sa tad apy asya kaunteyaś ciccheda nataparvaṇā | evam anyāni cāpāni bahūni kṛtahastavat | śāradvatasya ciccheda pāṇḍavaḥ paravīrahā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the son of Kuntī (Arjuna) also cut down that bow of his with an arrow whose joint was bent. In the same way, the Pāṇḍava—slayer of hostile heroes—shattered many other bows of Śāradvata (Kṛpa), displaying the swift, practiced mastery of a consummate archer. The episode underscores disciplined skill used to neutralize an opponent’s capacity to harm, rather than mere rage-driven violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined, precise action in conflict: a warrior’s excellence lies in controlled skill that disables harm (cutting bows) rather than uncontrolled slaughter—an ethical ideal of restraint and mastery within dharma-yuddha.
Arjuna (Kaunteya), in the Virāṭa episode’s combat, severs Kṛpācārya’s bow with a specialized arrow and then breaks many of Kṛpa’s other bows as well, demonstrating superior speed and technique and reducing the opponent’s ability to fight.