Shloka 31
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
प्राच्छादयच्छितैर्बाणैमहाराज शिखण्डिनम् । महाराज! तब रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ कृपाचार्यने दूसरा धनुष हाथमें लेकर पैने बाणोंद्वारा शिखण्डीको ढक दिया ।। स च्छाद्यमान: समरे गौतमेन यशस्विना
prācchādayacchitaiḥ bāṇaiḥ mahārāja śikhaṇḍinam | mahārāja! tadā rathīnāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ kṛpācāryaḥ dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ hastam ānīya tīkṣṇabāṇair śikhaṇḍinaṃ pracchādayām āsa || sa cchādyamānaḥ samare gautamena yaśasvinā
サンジャヤは言った。「大王よ、車戦士の中でも第一のクリパーチャーリヤは、別の弓を取り、鋭い矢を雨のごとく放ってシカンディンを覆い尽くした。かくして戦いのただ中で、シカンディンは名高きガウタマ（クリパ）に圧し伏せられていった。この光景は、クシャトリヤの戦の容赦ない規律を示す。技と決意は極限まで迫られ、同時に大戦の道義的緊張はなお展開し続けるのである。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uncompromising rigor of battlefield duty (kṣatriya-dharma): warriors respond to threat with disciplined skill and persistence. Ethically, it reflects how personal and strategic enmities are enacted through formal martial codes, even amid the war’s broader moral complexity.
Kṛpācārya, famed as Gautama, takes up another bow and unleashes a dense volley of sharp arrows at Śikhaṇḍin, effectively ‘covering’ him with missiles. Śikhaṇḍin is shown being pressed hard in the fight as Sañjaya reports the action to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.