Shloka 24
Bhagadatta’s Astra and the Fall of the Prāgjyotiṣa King (भगदत्त-वधः / वैष्णवास्त्र-प्रसङ्गः)
ततो जीमूतसंकाशाजन्नागादिन्द्र इव प्रभु: । अभ्यवर्षच्छरौघेण भगदत्तो धनंजयम्,तदनन्तर इन्द्रके समान शक्तिशाली राजा भगदत्त अर्जुनपर मेघ-सदृश हाथीसे बाणसमूहरूपी जलराशिकी वर्षा करने लगे
tato jīmūtasaṅkāśāj jannāgād indra iva prabhuḥ | abhyavarṣac charaughena bhagadatto dhanañjayam |
Sañjaya said: Then King Bhagadatta—mighty like Indra—advanced upon his elephant, which looked like a mass of rain-clouds, and showered Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) with a dense torrent of arrows. The verse heightens the battlefield’s moral tension: power and prowess are displayed at their peak, yet they are directed toward destruction, testing the warriors’ resolve and adherence to kṣatriya-dharma amid overwhelming violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the kṣatriya arena where courage and skill are tested under extreme threat. It implicitly contrasts divine-like might (Indra-simile) with the grim reality that such power, when aimed at harming others, intensifies the ethical burden of war and the need for steadfastness to one’s duty.
Bhagadatta advances on his cloud-like elephant and unleashes a heavy barrage of arrows at Arjuna. Sañjaya narrates this escalation as a dramatic moment in the Drona Parva battle sequence.