Shloka 40
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
ततः किरीटी सहसा पाञ्चालान् समरे<द्रवत् । छादयन्निषुजालेन महता मोहयन्निव,उस युद्धमें किरीटधारी पार्थने बाणोंका बड़ा भारी जाल-सा बिछाकर पांचालोंको आच्छादित और मोहित-सा करते हुए उनपर सहसा आक्रमण किया
tataḥ kirīṭī sahasā pāñcālān samare 'dravat | chādayann iṣujālena mahatā mohayann iva ||
Then Kirīṭī (Arjuna), all at once, rushed upon the Pāñcālas in the thick of battle. Spreading a vast net of arrows, he seemed to veil and bewilder them—an image of overwhelming martial mastery that momentarily subdues the enemy’s agency without describing needless cruelty, emphasizing skill and strategic dominance within the warrior code.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma expressed as disciplined prowess: victory is pursued through mastery and strategy (a ‘net of arrows’) rather than mere rage. Ethical emphasis lies in controlled skill that overwhelms the opponent’s capacity to respond, reflecting the ideal of trained power governed by role-duty.
Vaiśampāyana describes Arjuna (Kirīṭī) suddenly charging the Pāñcāla forces in battle and showering them with such a dense barrage of arrows that they appear covered and confused, as though deluded by the sheer intensity of his attack.