Shloka 2
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
किरन्निषुगणान् घोरान् स्वर्णपुड्खाज्शिलाशितान् । दर्शयन् विविधान् मार्गान् शिक्षाश्व॒ लघुहस्तवत्
sañjaya uvāca | kirann iṣugaṇān ghorān svarṇapuṅkhān śilāśitān | darśayan vividhān mārgān śikṣāś ca laghuhastavat |
Sañjaya berkata: “Mencurahkan gugusan anak panah yang menggerunkan—berbulu emas dan diasah dengan batu—dia memperlihatkan pelbagai lintasan serta kehalusan latihannya, laksana pahlawan yang pantas tangan. Dengan anak panah yang diperkasa oleh senjata-senjata ilahi, dia mengepung Yudhiṣṭhira di medan perang dan mula memenuhi langit dengan panah.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined training (śikṣā) and technical mastery can make violence extraordinarily effective; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s tension between prowess and restraint—skill in war is admired, yet its consequences (overwhelming force that ‘fills the sky’) invite reflection on responsible use of power within kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes a warrior unleashing terrifying volleys of expertly prepared arrows, demonstrating varied firing paths and refined technique, and using divinely empowered missiles to check/hem in Yudhiṣṭhira, saturating the battlefield sky with arrows.