Shloka 30
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
महाराज! उसके सिंहनादसे भयभीत हो बहुत-से सैनिक अपने प्यारे प्राणोंको त्यागकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े ।। कार्ष्णिश्नापि मुदा युक्त: प्रगृह् सशरं धनुः । नृत्यन्निव रथोपस्थे तद् रक्ष: समुपाद्रवत्,अभिमन्यु भी हर्ष और उत्साहमें भरकर हाथमें धनुष-बाण लिये रथकी बैठकमें नृत्य- सा करता हुआ उस राक्षसकी ओर दौड़ा
mahārāja! tasya siṃhanādena bhayabhītā bahavaḥ sainikāḥ priyān prāṇān tyaktvā pṛthivyāṃ nipetuḥ. kārṣṇiś cāpi mudā yuktaḥ pragṛhya saśaraṃ dhanuḥ nṛtyann iva rathopasthe tad rakṣaḥ samupādravat.
Sañjaya dijo: Oh rey, aterrados por aquel rugido como de león, muchos soldados abandonaron sus queridas vidas y cayeron sobre la tierra. Kārṣṇi también, colmado de gozo y ardor, empuñó su arco con una flecha ya encajada; como si danzara sobre el asiento del carro, se lanzó de frente contra aquel rākṣasa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts panic and resolve: fear can collapse an army’s morale, while disciplined courage and spirited readiness (holding bow and arrow, charging the foe) embody the kṣatriya ideal of meeting danger directly rather than yielding to terror.
After a terrifying lion-like roar causes many soldiers to fall dead or collapse in fear, the hero identified here as Kārṣṇi/Abhimanyu, exhilarated and confident, readies his bow with an arrow and charges toward a rākṣasa-like opponent, moving so swiftly that he seems to dance on the chariot-seat.