इन्द्रध्वज इवोत्सृष्ट: केतु: सर्वधनुष्मताम् | धरणीं न स पस्पर्श शरसंघै: समावृत:
sañjaya uvāca | indradhvaja ivotsṛṣṭaḥ ketuḥ sarvadhanuṣmatām | dharaṇīṃ na sa pasparśa śarasaṅghaiḥ samāvṛtaḥ ||
اندردھوج کی مانند گرا دیا گیا وہ عَلَم—تمام کمان داروں میں برتر—تیروں کے گھنے جُھنڈ سے ہر طرف ڈھکا ہونے کے سبب زمین کو نہ چھو سکا۔
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: even the most eminent warrior is reduced to a body pinned by arrows. It invites reflection on the cost of kṣatriya glory and the suffering that accompanies martial duty.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior—implicitly Bhīṣma in this episode—falling like a cut-down banner. His body is so densely transfixed by arrows that, even after falling, he does not physically touch the earth.