Shloka 15
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 19 — Saṃśaptaka–Trigarta Assault and Aindra-astra Counter
मुष्टिश्लिष्टायतज्यं च व्यायताभ्यां महद् धनु: । दोर्भ्या विस्फारयन् भासि महाजलदवद् भशम्
muṣṭiśliṣṭāyatajyāṃ ca vyāyatābhyāṃ mahad dhanuḥ | dorbhyāṃ visphārayan bhāsi mahājaladavad bhṛśam ||
Disse Sañjaya: “A corda do arco parece, ao mesmo tempo, comprimida dentro do teu punho e, ainda assim, estendida num amplo arco. Quando, com teus dois braços poderosos, retesas e fazes ressoar o grande arco, brilhas com esplendor intenso—como uma vasta nuvem de chuva.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined strength and mastery of one’s weapon can appear as awe-inspiring beauty; in the epic’s ethical frame, such power is morally weighty and must be governed by dharma, since splendor in battle is not itself a guarantee of righteousness.
Sañjaya vividly describes a warrior’s archery: the bowstring seems simultaneously gripped in the fist and stretched in a curve, and as the warrior draws and makes the great bow thunder, his presence becomes formidable and radiant like a massive rain-cloud.