Shloka 56
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
स हि नानाविधैर्बाणैरिष्वस्त्रप्रवरो युधि
sa hi nānāvidhair bāṇair iṣv-astrapravaro yudhi
संजय बोले—वह धनुर्विद्या और इष्वस्त्र-विद्या में श्रेष्ठ योद्धा रण में नाना प्रकार के बाणों से प्रहार कर रहा था; उसकी भयानक निपुणता युद्धभूमि को कर्तव्य और धैर्य की कठोर परीक्षा बना देती थी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension of kṣatriya life: excellence in weaponry is praised as a warrior virtue, yet it operates within the grave moral weight of battle, where skill becomes both duty-fulfillment and a source of destruction.
Sañjaya describes a leading archer on the battlefield unleashing many varieties of arrows, emphasizing his superiority in missile-weapons and the intensity of the ongoing combat.