Shloka 24
Bhagadatta’s Astra and the Fall of the Prāgjyotiṣa King (भगदत्त-वधः / वैष्णवास्त्र-प्रसङ्गः)
ततो जीमूतसंकाशाजन्नागादिन्द्र इव प्रभु: । अभ्यवर्षच्छरौघेण भगदत्तो धनंजयम्,तदनन्तर इन्द्रके समान शक्तिशाली राजा भगदत्त अर्जुनपर मेघ-सदृश हाथीसे बाणसमूहरूपी जलराशिकी वर्षा करने लगे
tato jīmūtasaṅkāśāj jannāgād indra iva prabhuḥ | abhyavarṣac charaughena bhagadatto dhanañjayam |
Sañjaya dit : Alors le roi Bhagadatta—puissant comme Indra—s’avança sur son éléphant, pareil à une masse de nuages de pluie, et inonda Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) d’un épais torrent de flèches. Le vers exalte la tension morale du champ de bataille : la puissance et la prouesse s’y déploient à leur comble, mais au service de la destruction, éprouvant la résolution et l’attachement au dharma des kṣatriya au milieu d’une violence accablante.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the kṣatriya arena where courage and skill are tested under extreme threat. It implicitly contrasts divine-like might (Indra-simile) with the grim reality that such power, when aimed at harming others, intensifies the ethical burden of war and the need for steadfastness to one’s duty.
Bhagadatta advances on his cloud-like elephant and unleashes a heavy barrage of arrows at Arjuna. Sañjaya narrates this escalation as a dramatic moment in the Drona Parva battle sequence.