Shloka 16
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तस्य लाघवमार्गस्थमलातसदृश प्र भम् । दिश: पर्यपतच्चापं गाण्डीवमिव घोषवत्
tasya lāghavamārgastham alātacakrasadṛśaprabham | diśaḥ paryapatac cāpaṃ gāṇḍīvam iva ghoṣavat ||
Sañjaya dit : Son arc, emporté sur la voie rapide de ses mains, brillait tel un tison tournoyant qui dessine un cercle de lumière ; retentissant comme le Gāṇḍīva, il balayait l’espace en tournant, comme s’il parcourait toutes les directions—image d’un art guerrier discipliné, déchaîné dans la juste fureur du combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined skill and focused energy in battle: agility guided by training turns a weapon into an all-encompassing force, suggesting that power in war is ethically weighty and must be governed by kṣatriya-dharma rather than mere rage.
Sañjaya describes a warrior’s bow being whirled and drawn so swiftly that it appears as a circular blaze like a spinning firebrand, and it roars like Gāṇḍīva, seeming to sweep across all directions as the fighting intensifies.