Shloka 15
भीष्मपातने कर्णविलापः | Karṇa’s Lament upon Seeing Bhīṣma Fallen
कुरव: संत्रसिष्यन्ति वज़्पाणेरिवासुरा: । “आज गाण्डीवकी टंकार करनेवाले सव्यसाची अर्जुनके पराक्रमको जाननेवाले कौरव उनसे उसी प्रकार डरेंगे, जैसे वज्रधारी इन्द्रसे असुर भयभीत होते हैं ।। अद्य गाण्डीवमुक्ताना- मशनीनामिव स्वन:
kuravāḥ saṁtrasiṣyanti vajrapāṇer ivāsurāḥ | adya gāṇḍīvamuktānām aśanīnām iva svanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “The Kurus will tremble like the Asuras before Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt. Today, the very roar of the arrows released from Gāṇḍīva will strike terror—announcing Arjuna’s prowess and foreshadowing the moral and strategic turning of the battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how righteous strength and proven skill can decisively affect morale in war: Arjuna’s presence and the sound of his bow and arrows become a moral-psychological force, likened to Indra’s thunderbolt that overwhelms adversaries.
Sañjaya, narrating to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, foretells that the Kaurava forces will be terrified upon witnessing Arjuna’s renewed onslaught; the sound of missiles from Gāṇḍīva is compared to thunderbolts, signaling imminent devastation for the Kurus.