Shloka 20
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
तत्राद्भुतमपश्याम रणे पार्थस्य विक्रमम् । शरै: संवार्य तान् वीरान् यज्जघान महाबल:,एकैकं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् कड़ुकबर्हिणवाजितै: । उसके बाद सुशर्मा और कृपाचार्यको भी तीन-तीन बाणोंसे बींध डाला। राजेन्द्र! फिर समरांगणमें प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेश भगदत्त, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ, चित्रसेन, विकर्ण, कृतवर्मा, दुर्मीषण तथा महारथी विन्द और अनुविन्द--इनमैंसे प्रत्येकको गीधकी पाँखसे युक्त तीन- तीन बाणोंद्वारा विशेष पीड़ा दी महाराज! मैंने उस रणक्षेत्रमें अर्जुनका अदभुत पराक्रम यह देखा कि उन महाबली वीरने शत्रुपक्षके उन सब प्रमुख वीरोंको बाणोंद्वारा रोककर अनेकों वीरोंको मार डाला था
sañjaya uvāca | tatrādbhutam apaśyāma raṇe pārthasya vikramam | śaraiḥ saṃvārya tān vīrān yaj jaghāna mahābalaḥ | ekaikaṃ tribhir ānarccchat kaḍukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ |
Sanjaya said: There, on the battlefield, I witnessed a wondrous display of Pārtha’s valor. That mighty warrior checked those heroes with volleys of arrows and struck them down. He pierced each one with three arrows—swift and keen, feathered like the pinions of a vulture—thereby halting the foremost champions of the enemy and inflicting decisive harm amid the clash of arms.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: disciplined force used to restrain and neutralize dangerous opponents. It also underscores the ethical weight of eyewitness narration—Sañjaya reports not triumphalism but the astonishing effectiveness of Arjuna’s controlled martial skill.
Sañjaya narrates to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna displayed extraordinary prowess in battle: he checked the enemy’s leading heroes with arrows and struck them decisively, piercing each with three swift, feathered shafts.