Shloka 9
भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः
Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed
तस्य प्राग्ज्योतिषो राजा माधवस्य महद् धनु: । चिच्छेद शतधारेण भल्लेन कृतहस्तवत्
tasya prāgjyotiṣo rājā mādhavasya mahad dhanuḥ | ciccheda śatadhāreṇa bhallena kṛtahastavat ||
三阇耶说：这时，普罗迦焦底沙之王薄伽达多，以一支阔刃箭——仿佛具百重锋口——如名手般精准一击，斩断了摩陀婆的大弓。在战争的道德氛围中，此句凸显：技艺与决心被用来折断对手的行动之具——在严酷的战斗法则里，这是战术上的必需。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the battlefield ethic where trained skill (kṛtahastatā) and decisive action are used to neutralize an opponent’s capacity to fight—here by severing the bow—reflecting the severe, duty-bound logic of kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhagadatta, the ruler of Prāgjyotiṣa, strikes with a many-edged bhalla-arrow and cuts Mādhava’s great bow, demonstrating expert marksmanship and shifting the immediate balance of the duel.