Shloka 24
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
नाभिमन्युमपश्यन्त नैव स्वान् न परान् रणे । महीपते! तब वे समस्त पाण्डव सैनिक अन्धकारसे आच्छादित हो गये। अत: न तो रणक्षेत्रमें अभिमन्युको देख पाते थे और न अपने तथा शत्रुपक्षके सैनिकोंको ही ।।
sañjaya uvāca | nābhimanyum apaśyanta naiva svān na parān raṇe | mahīpate! tataḥ te samastāḥ pāṇḍava-sainikā andhakārasenācchāditā abhavan | ataḥ na raṇakṣetre ’bhimanyum apaśyanta, na ca svān parān vā sainikān | abhimanyuś ca tad dṛṣṭvā ghorarūpaṃ mahattamaṃ, taṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ mahān andhakāraṃ dṛṣṭvā kurukulānandanaḥ abhimanyuḥ atyanta-ugraṃ bhāskarāstraṃ prāduracakāra | rājan! tena samasta-jagate prakāśaḥ samacchāyata |
Disse Sañjaya: Eles não conseguiam ver Abhimanyu—nem os seus, nem os inimigos—na batalha. Ó rei, então toda a hoste dos Pāṇḍava foi coberta pela escuridão; por isso, no campo de guerra, não viam nem Abhimanyu nem os soldados de qualquer dos lados. Ao ver aquela treva vasta e terrível, Abhimanyu, alegria da linhagem dos Kuru, manifestou a arma Bhāskara-astra, de ferocidade extrema. Ó rei, por ela a luz se espalhou por todo o mundo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the chaos of war, clarity (prakāśa) is portrayed as a decisive power: when confusion and fear obscure right action, disciplined capability and presence of mind restore order. The episode also reflects the epic’s ethical tension—extraordinary force (astra) is used not for cruelty here, but to remove disabling darkness and re-establish discernment on the battlefield.
A sudden, immense darkness envelops the battlefield so that neither Abhimanyu nor the troops on either side can be seen. Abhimanyu, recognizing the danger of confusion, reveals the Bhāskarāstra, a sun-like weapon, and its radiance spreads everywhere, dispelling the darkness and making the combatants visible again.