Shloka 56
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
स हि नानाविधैर्बाणैरिष्वस्त्रप्रवरो युधि
sa hi nānāvidhair bāṇair iṣv-astrapravaro yudhi
Sañjaya said: For he—pre-eminent in the science of bow and missile-weapons—was in battle striking with arrows of many kinds, displaying the feared mastery of a warrior whose skill turns the field into a test of endurance and duty amid the chaos of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension of kṣatriya life: excellence in weaponry is praised as a warrior virtue, yet it operates within the grave moral weight of battle, where skill becomes both duty-fulfillment and a source of destruction.
Sañjaya describes a leading archer on the battlefield unleashing many varieties of arrows, emphasizing his superiority in missile-weapons and the intensity of the ongoing combat.