Let's begin with some incidents involving archery skills -
1) ARJUNA,THE 'ONLY' PUPIL TO HIT THE BIRD'S EYE AT GURUKUL -
ADI PARVA Section-123 ( BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation )
‘Smilingly, Drona then summoned Dhananjaya. “This target is for you to shoot down.
Listen. As soon as I ask you to, you must shoot. O son! Stand here for a moment, with your
bow taut.” Thus addressed, Savyasachi drew his bow into a semicircle, aimed at the target
and stood there, as his preceptor had instructed. After a while, Drona asked him in the same
way. “O Arjuna! Do you see the bird seated there? Do you see the tree? Do you see me?”
Arjuna replied, “I can only see the bird. I cannot see the tree. Nor can I see you.” Pleased, the
invincible Drona waited again for a moment. Then he again addressed the Pandava, bull
among warriors. “If you can see the bird, describe it to me.” Arjuna replied, “I can only see
the bird’s head. I cannot see its body.” At Arjuna’s words, Drona was delighted and his hair
stood up. He told Partha, “Shoot,” and he let the arrow go. The Pandava sliced off the head of
the bird on the tree with his sharp arrow and brought it down on the ground. WhenPhalguna352 succeeded in this task, Drona embraced him and deduced that Drupada and hisrelatives had already been vanquished in battle.
2) ARJUNA,THE 'ONLY' SUITOR TO SUCCEED IN HITTING THE MATSYA YANTRA AT DRAUPADI SWAYAMWAR -
ADI PARVA Section-179 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
‘Arjuna came to where the bow was and stood there like a stationary mountain.
Circumambulating the bow in accordance with the rites, the scorcher of enemies bowed his
head to the bow and joyously grasped it. In the twinkling of an eye, he strung the bow and
grasped the five arrows. Through the hole in the machine, he suddenly pierced the target and
it fell down on the ground. Thereupon, a great roar was heard in the sky and a great clamour
arose in the assembly. The gods rained down celestial flowers on Partha’s head, that killer of
enemies. All the spectators waved their upper garments in joy, or uttered sounds of despair.
Flowers showered down from the sky. The musicians played on hundreds of instruments. In a
sweet voice, the bards and the raconteurs began to chant the praises of the hero. Seeing that
destroyer of enemies
Failure of Karna and Shalya specifically mentioned :-
Others
among them, who lived by their wisdom and were wise, told each other, “O Brahmanas! If
Kshatriyas like Karna and Shalya, who are famous in the world, have great strength and are
well versed in Dhanur Veda,22 could not string the bow, how can this weakling Brahmana,
with no knowledge of weapons, succeed?
Prof. M.A Mehendale the honorary scholar cum employ and president of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute accepted that the rejection of Karna by Draupadi is interpolation because Karna participated and failed there :-
3) ARJUNA CREATES A ROOF OF ARROWS AT KHANDAVA TO STOP INDRA -
ADI PARVA Section - 218 ( BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation )
Vaishampayana said, ‘Summoning his splendid weapons, Pandava Bibhatsu, repulsed the
shower of rain with a shower of arrows. Pandava covered every side of Khandava with his
arrows and drove away that rain from that forest. When the sky was covered withSavyasachi’s arrows, not a single being could escape from there.
4) ARJUNA WAS CAPABLE OF SHOOTING ARROWS IN THE DARK WITH THE SAME PROFICIENCY -
ADI PARVA Section-123 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
Vaishampayana said, ‘Arjuna took a great deal of care in worshipping his preceptor and
showed the greatest devotion in learning the art of weapons. He became a great favourite of
Drona’s. Drona summoned the cook and told him secretly, “Never give Arjuna any food when
it is dark.” One day, when Arjuna was eating, a wind arose and blew out the lamp and its
light. Arjuna continued to eat in the dark, his hand moving to his mouth from force of habit.
The Pandava then began to practise in the night. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona
heard the twang of his bowstring and came to him and embraced him.
5) ARJUNA, THE ONLY WARRIOR IN MAHABHARAT WHO WAS CAPABLE OF SHOOTING ARROWS FROM BOTH HANDS -
VIRATA PARVA Section-39 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
Both my hands are right hands when I drawthe Gandiva. Therefore, I am known among gods and men as Savyasachi.
VIRATA PARVA Section-59 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
O king! As Partha shot arrows with his lefthand and his right, Gandiva looked like an unbroken circle of fire.
6) ARJUNA, THE ONLY ARCHER TO KNOW ALL FIVE ARCHERY VIDHIS -
Below are the five archery vidhi's,Arjuna knew them all.
1)Prayoga Vidhi(Simply using/hurling a weapon)
2)Upsanhara Vidhi(Recall/Withdrawing a weapon)
3)Avarti Vidhi(Distress prevention)
4)Prayashachitya Vidhi(This enables the Archer to bring back to life in case an innocent is killed by the Astra)
5)Pratighat Vidhi(Repulsing/Turning back an astra)
VANA PARVA Section-165 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
O extender of the Kuru lineage! You haveobtained ten weapons and five.180 O Partha! Know that you have no equal in all the five
ways. O Dhananjaya! You know how to employ, restrain, return, pacify and counteractthem.181 You know everything about atonement and repulsion.
7) ARJUNA CREATES AN ARTIFICAL LAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE,FOR HIS HORSES TO DRINK WATER. HE IS COMPARED TO VISHWAKARMA HERE,EVEN LORD KRISHNA WAS DELIGHTED ON THIS ACT -
Drona Parva Section - 74 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy)
“In the battle, the mighty-armed Janardana fearlessly addressed these words to his beloved Arjuna, supreme among men. ‘O Arjuna! In this battle, there is no well for the horses to drink from. They desire water to drink, not to have a bath.’ Having been thus addressed, Arjuna cheerfully replied, ‘Here.’ He struck the earth with a weapon and created a pure lake from
which the horses could drink. Arrows were the bamboos there. Arrows were the pillars and it was covered with arrows. It was extraordinary. Partha created an abode made out of arrows and this extraordinary deed was like one of Tvashtra’s. At this, Govinda laughed and spoke words of praise. In that great battle, thus did Partha create a pavilion made out of arrows.”’
8 ) ARJUNA CREATES A HALL MADE OF ARROWS FOR HIS HORSES TO REST.
DRONA PARVA Section-75 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
Hrishikesha began to smile, as if he was amidst women, after Arjuna had crated a pavilion made out of arrows in that field of battle. O lord of the earth! While all the soldiers on your side looked on, the lotus-eyed one led the horses inside. Krishna was skilled in all acts connected with horses. He removed all their exhaustion, pain, trembling, nausea and wounds. He removed the stakes with his hands and rubbed the horses down.
9) ARJUNA DISPLAYS AN EXCELLENT SKILL IN TAKING JAYADRATH'S HEAD TO HIS FATHER'S LAP -
DRONA PARVA Section-121 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
To bring about Jayadratha’s death, Arjuna quickly released it.
Released from Gandiva, that arrow was as swift as a hawk snatching a bird from the top of a
tree. It severed Saindhava’s head. With other arrows, Dhananjaya bore it up again,431 thus
causing grief to his ill-wishers and delight to his well-wishers. At that time, Pandava made the
head look like a kadamba flower and used arrows to convey it to Samantapanchaka. O
venerable one! The energetic King Vriddhakshatra, with whom you have a matrimonial
alliance,432 was engaged in his evening prayers then. He was seated. The head of the king of
Sindhu, with dark hair and earrings, was thrown down on his lap. The head, with its beautiful
earrings, was brought down on his lap. O scorcher of enemies! But King Vriddhakshatra did
not notice it. When the intelligent Vriddhakshatra stood up, after having finished his
meditation, the head was suddenly flung down on the ground.
So it should be clear that Arjuna didn't use Pashupatastra for killing Jayadrath,but using his own archery skill he kept on shooting Jayadrath's head and took it to his father.
10) ON THE 3RD DAY OF KURUKSHETRA WAR,ALL KURU WARRIORS INCLUDING BHISHMA AND DRONA FAIL TO CROSS THE ARROWS OF ARJUN AND ATLAST THEY WERE FORCED TO RETREAT -
BHISHMA PARVA Section - 55 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy)
‘“The Chedis, the Panchalas, the Karushas and the Matsyas, together with all the Parthas,
began to roar. The soldiers and leaders of the army153 were terrified, like a herd of deer at
the sight of a lion. The wielder of the Gandiva and Janardana roared in great delight. The
Kurus, together with Bhishma, Drona, Duryodhana and Bahlika, saw that Indra’s terrible
weapon had extended everywhere and was like the end of a yuga. Their limbs were sorely
wounded from the weapon and they saw the sun was withdrawing its rays. They saw that
twilight was near and that the sun was streaked with red. They decided to withdraw. Having
performed deeds and won fame in the world, Dhananjaya had triumphed over the enemies.
Having completed his tasks, together with his brothers, the lord of men retired to his camp
for the night. When night set in, there was a terrible and great uproar among the Kurus. ‘In
the battle, Arjuna has killed ten thousand charioteers and seven hundred elephants. All those
from the eastern regions, all the masses of Souviras, the Kshudrakas and the Malavas have
been brought down. Dhananjaya has accomplished a great deed. No one else is capable of
accomplishing this. O king!154 King Shrutayu, the lord of Ambashtha, Durmarshana,
Chitrasena, Drona, Kripa, Saindhava, Bahlika, Bhurishrava, Shalya and Shala, together with
Bhishma, have been vanquished by Kiriti, the maharatha of the world, through the valour of
his own arms.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having spoken these words, all those
who were on your side went to their camps. There were thousands of torches to bring
illumination and many beautiful lamps. All the warriors and leaders among the Kurus settled
down for the night, terrified of Kiriti.”’
11) ARJUNA ALONE VANQUISHES THE PROTECTORS OF JAYADARTH,A BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF ARJUN'S ARCHERY FEAT HERE -
READ ON 😊
DRONA PARVA Section-121 (BORI CE, Dr. Bibek Debroy translation)
‘Sanjaya said, “Dhananjaya was seen to roam around in that battle and he seemed to be
simultaneously everywhere. He exhibited his wonderful weapons. He was like the midday
sun, scorching everything from the sky. None of the beings were capable of glancing at
Pandava. A torrent of arrows issued from the great-souled one’s Gandiva. In that battle, they
seemed to be like an array of swans in the sky. He countered all those brave ones with his
weapons. Through his fierce deeds, he exhibited his terrible self. O king! Arjuna passed all
those rathas and confounded them with his iron arrows, wishing to kill Jayadratha.
Stay tuned for the next part
SOURCE:- BORI CE
- Avenger
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