Shloka 356
अदृश्यत रिपून् निष्नन् शिक्षयास्त्रबलेन च । दुर्योधनने अपने धनुषको खींचकर मण्डलाकार बना दिया था। वह अपनी शिक्षा और अस्त्र-बलसे इतनी शीघ्रताके साथ बाणोंको धनुषपर रखता, चलाता तथा शत्रुओंका वध करता था कि कोई उसके इस कार्यको देख नहीं पाता था
adṛśyata ripūn niṣṇan śikṣayā astrabalena ca | duryodhanena āpane dhanuṣko khīṃcakara maṇḍalākāra banā diyā thā | sa apnī śikṣā aur astrabala se itnī śīghratā ke sātha bāṇoṃ ko dhanuṣpar rakhatā, calātā tathā śatruoṃ kā vadha karatā thā ki koī uske is kārya ko dekh nahīṃ pātā thā ||
Sañjaya said: Duryodhana, drawing his bow, made it whirl in a circular sweep. By the power of his training and mastery of weapons, he set arrows to the string and released them with such speed, striking down enemies so swiftly that no one could even perceive the act.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined training (śikṣā) and technical mastery (astrabala) can make action extraordinarily effective—yet in the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, such prowess is morally neutral: its value depends on the cause it serves and the restraint with which it is used.
Sañjaya describes Duryodhana’s battlefield performance: he whirls his bow in a circular motion and shoots so rapidly that observers cannot even see the sequence of nocking and releasing arrows, while enemies fall under his attack.