Shloka 21
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
अलनम्बुषं विनिर्भिद्य प्राविशन्त धरातलम् | उसी प्रकार अभिमन्युके छोड़े हुए सुवर्णभूषित बाण भी अलम्बुषको विदीर्ण करके पृथ्वीमें समा गये ।। सौभद्रस्तु रणे रक्ष: शरै: संनतपर्वभि:
sañjaya uvāca | alanambuṣaṃ vinirbhidya prāviśan dharātalam | usī prakāra abhimanyuke choṛe hue suvarṇabhūṣita bāṇa bhī alambuṣako vidīrṇa karke pṛthvīmeṃ samā gaye || saubhadras tu raṇe rakṣaḥ śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ |
अलम्बुषाला विदीर्ण करून ते बाण भूमीत शिरले. त्याचप्रमाणे सौभद्र अभिमन्यूने रणात त्या राक्षसाला सुजोड, दृढ सांध्यांच्या बाणांनी भेदले.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined force used in a dharmic context: Abhimanyu’s controlled, effective archery is portrayed not as cruelty but as rightful martial action within the duties of war, where protection of one’s side and resistance to adharma are paramount.
Sanjaya describes Abhimanyu’s arrows striking Alambusha so powerfully that they pierce him and continue into the earth. The imagery emphasizes the intensity of the encounter and Abhimanyu’s prowess against the rākṣasa opponent.