Shloka 39
तत आदाय वीराणामस्त्रैरस्त्राणि पाण्डव:
tata ādāya vīrāṇām astrair astrāṇi pāṇḍavāḥ
Sañjaya said: Then the Pāṇḍavas, taking up the heroes’ weapons, met weapon with weapon—countering each missile with their own—so that the battle became a contest of skill and resolve rather than mere slaughter.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of meeting force with disciplined skill: in righteous warfare, one does not strike blindly but responds proportionately and expertly, turning violence into regulated combat governed by martial codes.
Sañjaya describes a moment in the Drona Parva where the Pāṇḍavas actively counter the opponents’ missiles—taking up and deploying weapons so that each attack is answered by a corresponding weapon, intensifying the duel-like character of the fighting.