Shloka 24
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 54 — Missile-Exchange and Tactical Redirection
Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa
ततः सुविद्धा: सरथा: सनागा योधा विनेदुर्भरतर्षभाणाम् । अन्तर्हिता भीष्ममुखा: सहा श्वाः किरीटिना कीर्णरथा: पृषत्कै:,तदनन्तर कौरवसेनाके रथियों और हाथीसवारों-सहित सम्पूर्ण योद्धा अत्यन्त घायल होकर चीखने-चिल्लाने लगे। किरीटधारी पार्थके बाणोंसे रथ आच्छादित हो जानेके कारण भीष्म आदि सभी महारथी घोड़ोंसहित अदृश्य हो गये
tataḥ suviddhāḥ sarathāḥ sanāgā yodhā vinedur bharatarṣabhāṇām | antarhitā bhīṣmamukhāḥ sahāśvāḥ kirīṭinā kīrṇarathāḥ pṛṣatkaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Maka para pahlawan dalam bala tentera Kuru—para kusir dengan kereta perang mereka dan para penunggang gajah dengan gajah mereka—yang ditembusi anak panah hingga ke segenap tubuh, mula menjerit kesakitan. Dan apabila Kirīṭin (Arjuna) menutupi kereta-kereta mereka dengan hujan panah yang rapat, Bhīṣma serta para juara terkemuka yang lain, bersama kuda-kuda mereka, seolah-olah lenyap dari pandangan—ditenggelami dan diselubungi ribut senjata itu.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: even the greatest warriors can be reduced to helplessness amid violence, and martial glory quickly turns into suffering. It implicitly cautions that power and pride are fragile when driven by conflict, reinforcing the Mahābhārata’s recurring reflection on the cost of kṣatriya warfare.
After being struck repeatedly, the Kuru warriors—on chariots and elephants—cry out in pain. Arjuna (Kirīṭin) releases such a dense volley of arrows that Bhīṣma and other leading fighters, along with their horses, appear to disappear, their chariots completely obscured by the arrow-shower.