Shloka 41
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
आकर्षान्मण्डली भूतं शक्रचापमिवापरम् । तस्माच्छरा: प्रादुरासन् पूरयन्त इवाम्बरम्,प्रजानाथ! सुवर्णमय पृष्ठवाला भीमसेनका विशाल धनुष प्रत्यंचा खींचनेसे मण्डलाकार हो दूसरे इन्द्र-धनुषके समान प्रतीत हो रहा था। उससे जो बाण प्रकट होते थे, वे मानो आकाशको भर रहे थे
ākarṣān maṇḍalī-bhūtaṃ śakra-cāpam ivāparam | tasmāc charāḥ prādurāsan pūrayanta ivāmbaram, prajānātha |
सञ्जय उवाच—प्रजानाथ! भीमसेनः सुवर्णपृष्ठवालं महद्धनुराकृष्य मण्डलीभूतं चकार; तदपरं शक्रचापमिव व्यराजत। तस्माच्छराः प्रादुरासन् बहवः, अम्बरमिव पूरयन्तः।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-vīrya (martial excellence) expressed through disciplined action: power is shown not as chaos but as controlled skill—Bhīma’s drawn bow and the ordered torrent of arrows—serving the demands of battle-duty within the epic’s dharma framework.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma drawing his massive bow until it forms a circular arc, likened to Indra’s rainbow; then a rapid, overwhelming discharge of arrows issues forth, seeming to blanket the sky.