matsyÄbhÄsaá¹ jale vÄ«ká¹£ya
jñÄtvÄ ca tad-avasthitim
pÄrtho yatto 'sá¹›jad bÄṇaá¹
nÄcchinat paspṛśe param
matsya - of the fish; ÄbhÄsam - the reflection; jale - in the water; vÄ«ká¹£ya - looking at; jñÄtvÄ - knowing; ca - and; tat - its; avasthitim - location; pÄrthaḥ - Arjuna; yattaḥ - taking careful aim; asá¹›jat - shot; bÄṇam - the arrow; na acchinat - he did not pierce it; paspṛśe - he touched it; param - only.
Then Arjuna looked at the reflection of the fish in the water and determined its position. When he carefully shot his arrow at it, however, he did not pierce the target but merely grazed it.
According to the explanation of ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ«, Arjuna was more expert a marksman than the other kings, but his physical strength was not adequate to the task of shooting it with perfect accuracy.
