Shloka 33
अध्याय ५८ — वानरध्वजस्य महेन्द्रास्त्रप्रयोगः
Chapter 58: Arjuna’s Deployment of the Indra-Weapon
स रथेन चरन् पार्थ: प्रेक्षणीयो धनंजय: । युगपद् दिक्षु सर्वासु सर्वतो<स्त्राण्यदर्शयत्
sa rathena caran pārthaḥ prekṣaṇīyo dhanañjayaḥ | yugapad dikṣu sarvāsu sarvato 'strāṇy adarśayat |
Vaiśampāyana dit : Parcourant le champ sur son char, Pārtha Dhanañjaya devint un spectacle pour tous. En un seul instant, il déploya ses armes dans toutes les directions à la fois, faisant pleuvoir des traits de toutes parts et voilant le ciel de flèches comme s’il le plongeait dans la nuit. Dans ce tumulte, même Droṇa—tel un être enveloppé de brume—sembla disparaître aux regards.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of disciplined power: skill and force are displayed not as chaos but as controlled mastery. It also implies an ethical dimension of warfare in the epic—superior technique can decide outcomes through strategy and psychological dominance, not merely brute violence.
Arjuna, moving in his chariot, unleashes a simultaneous, all-directional barrage of missiles, filling the sky with arrows and creating a darkness-like cover. Amid this overwhelming display, Droṇa is described as becoming indistinct, as if hidden by fog.