Text 24
matsyābhāsaṁ jale vīkṣya
jñātvā ca tad-avasthitim
pārtho yatto ’sṛjad bāṇaṁ
nācchinat paspṛśe param
matsya — of the fish; ābhāsam — the reflection; jale — in the water; vīkṣya — looking at; jñātvā — knowing; ca — and; tat — its; avasthitim — location; pārthaḥ — Arjuna; yattaḥ — taking careful aim; asṛjat — shot; bāṇam — 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 Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, 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.