Shloka 31
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
प्राच्छादयच्छितैर्बाणैमहाराज शिखण्डिनम् । महाराज! तब रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ कृपाचार्यने दूसरा धनुष हाथमें लेकर पैने बाणोंद्वारा शिखण्डीको ढक दिया ।। स च्छाद्यमान: समरे गौतमेन यशस्विना
prācchādayacchitaiḥ bāṇaiḥ mahārāja śikhaṇḍinam | mahārāja! tadā rathīnāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ kṛpācāryaḥ dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ hastam ānīya tīkṣṇabāṇair śikhaṇḍinaṃ pracchādayām āsa || sa cchādyamānaḥ samare gautamena yaśasvinā
Sañjaya dit : Ô grand roi, Kṛpācārya—le meilleur des guerriers de char—saisit un autre arc et couvrit Śikhaṇḍin d’une telle grêle de flèches acérées qu’il semblait en être entièrement voilé. Ainsi, au plus fort de la mêlée, Śikhaṇḍin se vit accablé par l’illustre Gautama (Kṛpa). La scène souligne la discipline implacable de la guerre des kṣatriya : l’adresse et la résolution sont poussées à leurs limites, tandis que les tensions morales de la grande guerre continuent de se déployer.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uncompromising rigor of battlefield duty (kṣatriya-dharma): warriors respond to threat with disciplined skill and persistence. Ethically, it reflects how personal and strategic enmities are enacted through formal martial codes, even amid the war’s broader moral complexity.
Kṛpācārya, famed as Gautama, takes up another bow and unleashes a dense volley of sharp arrows at Śikhaṇḍin, effectively ‘covering’ him with missiles. Śikhaṇḍin is shown being pressed hard in the fight as Sañjaya reports the action to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.