Shloka 31
भीष्म-युधिष्ठिर-संमर्दः
Bhīṣma’s Pressure on Yudhiṣṭhira; Śikhaṇḍī’s Approach; Evening Withdrawal
ते विकर्ण समासाद्य कड्कबर्हिणवासस: । भित्त्वा देहं गता भूमिं ज्वलन्त इव पन्नगा:
te vikarṇa samāsādya kaṅkabārhiṇavāsasaḥ | bhittvā dehaṃ gatā bhūmiṃ jvalanta iva pannagāḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。その矢は、水鳥の羽と孔雀の羽飾りを矢羽に戴き、ヴィカルナを射抜いた。身を裂き、貫き通してなお進み、燃える蛇のごとく地に落ちた。この比喩は、戦の容赦なき無人格の力を示す—技と怒りが武器を生きた恐怖へと変え、武人の身体は運命と暴力が走り抜ける束の間の通路となるのだ。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: once battle is joined, weapons act with a terrifying inevitability, and even valiant warriors are subject to sudden bodily destruction. It evokes the kṣatriya world where courage and skill operate within a larger, often merciless, flow of fate and conflict.
Sañjaya describes arrows striking Vikarna. Adorned with feathers, they pierce and split his body, then continue through and fall to the ground, compared to flaming serpents—an intense visual of the ferocity of the fighting.