Shloka 17
Pāṇḍya-vadha-anantaram Arjunasya Pravṛttiḥ
Arjuna’s Response and the Renewed Battle
नाप्याददत् संदधन्नैव मुछचन् बाणान् रथेडदृश्यत सव्यसाची । रथांश्व नागांस्तुरगान् पदातीन् संस्यूतदेहान् ददृशुर्हतांश्ष,रथपर बैठे हुए सव्यसाची अर्जुन कब तरकससे बाण लेते, कब उन्हें धनुषपर रखते और कब छोड़ते हैं, यह नहीं दिखायी देता था। सब लोग यही देखते थे कि रथियों, हाथियों, घोड़ों और पैदल सैनिकोंके शरीर उनके बाणोंसे गुँथे हुए हैं और वे प्राणशून्य हो गये हैं इति श्रीमहाभारते कर्णपर्वणि अश्वत्थामपराजये सप्तदशो5ध्याय:
nāpy ādadat saṃdadhann eva muñcan bāṇān rathe 'dṛśyata savyasācī | rathāṃś ca nāgāṃs turagān padātīn saṃsyūtadehān dadṛśur hatāṃś ca ||
Sañjaya dijo: Aun sentado en su carro, Arjuna—el arquero diestro con ambas manos—no podía ser visto tomando flechas del carcaj, encajándolas en el arco o soltándolas. La gente sólo veía el resultado: aurigas y guerreros de carro, elefantes, caballos y soldados de a pie, con los cuerpos como “cosidos” por sus saetas, caídos sin vida.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill in war can become almost invisible in its mechanics and visible only in its consequences. Ethically, it points to the tension in kṣatriya-dharma: even when fighting is duty-bound, the devastation inflicted is real and sobering.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna’s archery is so swift that observers cannot perceive the steps of drawing, nocking, and releasing arrows. They only witness the aftermath—enemy forces across all arms (chariots, elephants, cavalry, infantry) struck down with bodies riddled by arrows.