Shloka 2
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
किरन्निषुगणान् घोरान् स्वर्णपुड्खाज्शिलाशितान् । दर्शयन् विविधान् मार्गान् शिक्षाश्व॒ लघुहस्तवत्
sañjaya uvāca | kirann iṣugaṇān ghorān svarṇapuṅkhān śilāśitān | darśayan vividhān mārgān śikṣāś ca laghuhastavat |
Sañjaya dit : «Déversant d’effroyables gerbes de flèches—aux empennages d’or et aux pointes aiguisées sur la pierre—il montra mille trajectoires et les raffinements de son entraînement, tel un guerrier à la main prompte. Par des flèches investies par les armes divines, il enferma Yudhiṣṭhira sur le champ de bataille et se mit à emplir le ciel de traits.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined training (śikṣā) and technical mastery can make violence extraordinarily effective; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s tension between prowess and restraint—skill in war is admired, yet its consequences (overwhelming force that ‘fills the sky’) invite reflection on responsible use of power within kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes a warrior unleashing terrifying volleys of expertly prepared arrows, demonstrating varied firing paths and refined technique, and using divinely empowered missiles to check/hem in Yudhiṣṭhira, saturating the battlefield sky with arrows.