Shloka 4
अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa
with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma
तदन्तरं च सम्प्रेक्ष्य त्वरमाणो महारथ: । प्रसंदधे शितं बाणं गिरीणामपि दारणम्
tadantaraṃ ca samprekṣya tvaramāṇo mahārathaḥ | prasaṃdadhe śitaṃ bāṇaṃ girīṇām api dāraṇam ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Al ver aquel intervalo y juzgarlo el momento propicio, el gran guerrero de carro, Duryodhana, se apresuró a encajar una flecha aguda, de la que se decía que podía hender incluso montañas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the heat of battle, a warrior’s attention fixes on timing—spotting a brief opening (antara) and responding instantly with maximum force. Ethically, it reflects the tension between strategic necessity in war and the peril of letting haste and destructive intent dominate one’s judgment.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior noticing a momentary gap and quickly readying a very sharp arrow, poetically described as powerful enough to split even mountains—signaling an imminent, forceful attack.