Shloka 59
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
स कुञ्जरस्थो विसृजन्निषूनरिषु पार्थिव: । बभौ रश्मीनिवादित्यो भुवनेषु समुत्सूजन्,उस समय घबराये हुए आपके पुत्र युयुत्सु अभिमन्युके रथपर जा बैठे। हाथीकी पीठपर बैठे हुए राजा भगदत्त शत्रुओंपर बाण-वर्षा करते हुए सम्पूर्ण लोकोंमें अपनी किरणोंका विस्तार करनेवाले सूर्यके समान शोभा पा रहे थे
sa kuñjarastho visṛjanniṣūn ariṣu pārthivaḥ | babhau raśmīn ivādityo bhuvaneṣu samutsṛjan ||
Sañjaya said: Seated upon his elephant, the king (Bhagadatta) kept releasing volleys of arrows against the foes. As he spread his shafts across the battlefield, he shone like the sun extending its rays over the worlds—an image that underscores the overwhelming, all-pervading force of his assault amid the moral darkness of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the sun-simile to portray how martial power can become all-pervading and overwhelming; ethically, it highlights the grandeur of kṣatriya prowess while implicitly reminding that such brilliance is expressed through destructive force in war.
Sañjaya describes King Bhagadatta seated on an elephant, showering arrows upon the opposing warriors; his widespread missile-attack makes him appear radiant and dominant, like the sun spreading its rays across the worlds.