Shloka 16
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तस्य लाघवमार्गस्थमलातसदृश प्र भम् । दिश: पर्यपतच्चापं गाण्डीवमिव घोषवत्,अभिमन्युका धनुष गाण्डीवके समान टंकारथध्वनि प्रकट करनेवाला, हाथोंकी फुर्ती दिखानेका उपयुक्त स्थान और खींचे जानेपर अलातचक्रके समान मण्डलाकार प्रकाशित होनेवाला था। वह वहाँ सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें घूम रहा था
tasya lāghavamārgastham alātacakrasadṛśaprabham | diśaḥ paryapatac cāpaṃ gāṇḍīvam iva ghoṣavat ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Su arco, llevado por la senda veloz de sus manos, resplandecía como un tizón giratorio que traza un círculo de luz; tronando como el Gāṇḍīva, barría en torno, como si recorriera todas las direcciones—imagen de la destreza marcial disciplinada, desatada en la justa furia de la batalla.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined skill and focused energy in battle: agility guided by training turns a weapon into an all-encompassing force, suggesting that power in war is ethically weighty and must be governed by kṣatriya-dharma rather than mere rage.
Sañjaya describes a warrior’s bow being whirled and drawn so swiftly that it appears as a circular blaze like a spinning firebrand, and it roars like Gāṇḍīva, seeming to sweep across all directions as the fighting intensifies.