Shloka 236
अविध्यत् पृथिवीं पार्थ: पाश्वे भीष्मस्य दक्षिणे । अर्जुनका बाणद्ारा पृथ्वीसे जल प्रकट करके भीष्मजीको पिलाना तब रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनने शरशय्यापर सोये हुए सम्पूर्ण शस्त्रधारियोंमें उत्तम भरतशिरोमणि भीष्मकी रथद्वारा ही परिक्रमा करके अपने धनुषपर एक तेजस्वी बाणका संधान किया और सब लोगोंके देखते-देखते मन्त्रोच्चारणपूर्वक उस बाणको पर्जन्यास्त्रसे संयुक्त करके भीष्मके दाहिने पार्श्व॒में पृथ्वीपर उसे चलाया
sañjaya uvāca | avidhyat pṛthivīṃ pārthaḥ pārśve bhīṣmasya dakṣiṇe |
Sanjaya said: Arjuna, son of Pāṇḍu, struck the earth on the right side of Bhīṣma. In the unfolding of this scene, Arjuna—foremost among chariot-warriors—circled Bhīṣma as he lay upon his bed of arrows and, before all onlookers, invoked sacred formulae and released a radiant arrow empowered like a rain-bringing weapon, causing water to spring forth from the ground so that the grandsire could drink. The episode highlights disciplined compassion expressed even amid war: martial skill is directed not to cruelty, but to service and reverence for an elder bound by his vow.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in righteous warfare, dharma requires compassion and reverence: Arjuna’s mastery is used to relieve Bhīṣma’s suffering, showing that power and skill are ethically guided by service to a venerable elder and by restraint rather than hatred.
As Bhīṣma lies on his bed of arrows, Arjuna strikes the ground to the right of him so that water springs forth; he does this publicly and with ritualized focus (mantra and weapon-invocation in the expanded description), enabling Bhīṣma to drink.