Shloka 52
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
आजघान महाराज शरेणानतपर्वणा | महाराज! तत्पश्चात् राजा भगदत्तने कुपित होकर झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणसे भीमसेनकी छातीमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। ५१ है ।। सो5तिविद्धो महेष्वासस्तेन राज्ञा महारथ:
sañjaya uvāca | ājaghāna mahārāja śareṇānataparvaṇā | so 'tividdho maheṣvāsaḥ tena rājñā mahārathaḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: ¡Oh, rey! Lo hirió con una flecha de nudos curvados. Así, aquel gran arquero y poderoso guerrero de carro, atravesado por ese monarca, quedó gravemente herido—episodio que subraya cómo, en el ardor de la batalla, la ira y la destreza llevan a asestar golpes decisivos incluso contra héroes renombrados.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield reality that skill and anger can culminate in severe harm even to eminent warriors; ethically, it reflects the tension between kṣatriya duty (fighting decisively) and the tragic cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a king strikes with a distinctive bent-jointed arrow, and the great archer and mahāratha is grievously pierced—contextually describing Bhagadatta’s powerful hit against Bhīmasena.