तं चतुर्दशभिः पार्थश् चित्रपुङ्खैः शिलाशितैः ॥
अविध्यत् तूर्णम् अव्यग्रस् ते ऽस्याभ्रश्यन्त वर्मणः ॥
तेषां वैफल्यम् आलोक्य पुनर् नव च पञ्च च ॥
प्राहिणोन् निशितान् बाणांस् ते चाभ्रश्यन्त वर्मणः ॥
अष्टाविंशत् तु तान् बाणान् अस्तान् विप्रेक्ष्य निष्फलान् ॥
अब्रवीत् परवीरघ्नः कृष्णो ऽर्जुनम् इदं वचः ॥
taṃ caturdaśabhiḥ pārthaś citrapuṅkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ ||
avidhyat tūrṇam avyagras te 'syābhraśyanta varmaṇaḥ ||
teṣāṃ vaiphalyam ālokya punar nava ca pañca ca ||
prāhiṇon niśitān bāṇāṃs te cābhraśyanta varmaṇaḥ ||
aṣṭāviṃśat tu tān bāṇān astān viprekṣya niṣphalān ||
abravīt paravīraghnaḥ kṛṣṇo 'rjunam idaṃ vacaḥ ||
Partha, unperturbed, swiftly pierced him with fourteen variegated-feathered arrows sharpened on stone — but they slipped off his armor. Seeing their futility, he sent forth again nine and then five sharp arrows, and these too slid off the mail. Beholding those twenty-eight arrows loosed in vain, Krishna, slayer of enemy heroes, spoke this word to Arjuna.
143b26e217d2 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Twenty-eight of Arjuna's arrows — all "abhraśyanta varmaṇaḥ", sliding off as from stone. The composure of the greatest of archers ("avyagraḥ") meets the incomprehensible; here the limit of even the most skilled hand shows itself when something hidden stands against it. The verse teaches that there is a barrier no strength of weapons can overcome, and the wise seek out its cause rather than multiply futile blows.