Shloka 96
भीष्मस्य मण्डलव्यूहः — Bhīṣma’s Maṇḍala Battle-Formation and the Opening Engagements
सहस््रशो महाराज दर्शयन् पाणिलाघवम् । उसका विशाल धनुष इन्द्रधनुषके समान बहुरंगा था। महाराज! उसे खींचकर भूरिश्रवाने अपने हस्त-लाघवका परिचय देते हुए वज़्के समान दुःसह और विषैले सर्पोके तुल्य भयंकर सहस्रों बाण छोड़े
sahasraśo mahārāja darśayan pāṇilāghavam | tasya viśālaṃ dhanuḥ indradhanuṣaḥ samānaṃ bahuraṅgaṃ āsīt | mahārāja! tat ākarṣya bhūriśravāḥ sva-hasta-lāghavasya paricayaṃ dadat vajra-sadṛśān duḥsahān viṣa-sarpopamān bhayaṅkarān sahasraśo bāṇān mumoca |
Dijo Sañjaya: «Oh Rey, una y otra vez Bhūriśravā mostró una destreza de manos extraordinaria. Tensó su gran arco, multicolor como el arco iris de Indra. Luego, para dar prueba de su maestría, lo estiró al máximo y soltó miles de flechas: insoportables como un rayo y terribles como serpientes venenosas».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the awe-inspiring power of trained skill (hasta/pāṇi-lāghava) in a kṣatriya context, while implicitly reminding the listener that such prowess, when deployed in war, produces fear and suffering—highlighting the ethical tension between duty in battle and the human cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the warrior Bhūriśravā draws his large, rainbow-colored bow and, showcasing his dexterity, releases thousands of dreadful arrows—likened to a thunderbolt and to venomous snakes—intensifying the battle’s terror.