Shloka 45
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः
नृत्यमान इवाभाति रथचर्यासु मारिष । तेन रत्नवता पार्थ: स च गाण्डीवधन्चना
nṛtyamāna ivābhāti rathacaryāsu māriṣa | tena ratnavatā pārthaḥ sa ca gāṇḍīvadhanvanā ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai yang mulia, dalam gerak-geri kereta perangnya dia tampak seolah-olah sedang menari. Dan Pārtha itu—yang memegang busur Gāṇḍīva yang gemerlapan berhias permata—bersinar sebagai mahaguru seni perang.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery: Arjuna’s controlled, graceful chariot-work and his famed bow symbolize trained excellence. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, such power is meaningful when governed by duty (kṣatriya-dharma) and steadiness rather than rage or cruelty.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, praises Arjuna’s chariot-maneuvering as so fluid it looks like a dance, and notes his splendor with the jewel-adorned Gāṇḍīva—emphasizing Arjuna’s readiness and superiority in combat.