Shloka 366
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
एको दीर्घ इवात्यर्थमाकाशे संस्थित: शर: । सूतपुत्रके धनुषसे गिरते हुए बाण ऐसी शोभा पा रहे थे, मानो एक ही अत्यन्त विशाल- सा बाण आकाशमें खड़ा हो
eko dīrgha ivātyartham ākāśe saṃsthitaḥ śaraḥ |
सञ्जय उवाच—एको दीर्घ इवात्यर्थम् आकाशे संस्थितः शर इवाभात्; सूतपुत्रधनुषो निःपतन्तः शराः तथा शोभां लेभिरे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily heightens the moral and emotional weight of war by portraying how extraordinary martial power can dominate the battlefield. It implicitly warns that prowess, when harnessed to violence, magnifies destruction—raising questions of dharma: skill and duty must be guided by righteous purpose, not merely by capability.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield spectacle: Karṇa’s arrows, shot in rapid succession and with great brilliance, appear visually like a single gigantic arrow standing in the sky. The image conveys the density of missiles and the overwhelming pressure exerted by Karṇa’s archery in that moment of the Drona Parva conflict.