Shloka 42
भीष्मस्य जलप्रार्थना — अर्जुनस्य पर्जन्यास्त्रप्रयोगः — दुर्योधनं प्रति सन्ध्युपदेशः
Bhīṣma’s request for water; Arjuna’s Parjanya-astra; counsel to Duryodhana on reconciliation
स बिभेद शतघ्नीं च नवभि: कड्कपत्रिभि: | मद्रराजप्रयुक्तं च शरं छित्त्वा महारथ:
sa bibheda śataghnīṃ ca navabhiḥ kaṅkapatribhiḥ | madrarāja-prayuktaṃ ca śaraṃ chittvā mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Le grand guerrier de char brisa aussi la śataghnī de neuf flèches empennées de plumes de héron ; et, abattant le trait lancé par le roi de Madra, il continua de dominer l’échange. La scène met en relief l’adresse disciplinée d’un kṣatriya au combat : répondre à la force meurtrière par une contre-force mesurée, où la maîtrise et la vigilance deviennent le moyen de survivre sous le poids moral de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Within the battlefield frame, the verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma as disciplined responsiveness: even amid lethal conflict, the warrior’s duty is expressed through alertness, precision, and controlled counteraction rather than reckless aggression.
Sañjaya reports that an elite warrior destroys a formidable śataghnī with nine specially fletched arrows and then intercepts—by cutting down—the arrow shot by the king of Madra, showing superiority in the ongoing duel.