Shloka 23
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
बहूनपि हयारोहान् भल््लै: संनतपर्वभि: । रथी जघान सम्प्राप्पय बाणगोचरमागतान्,इसी प्रकार एक-एक रथी झुकी हुई गाँठवाले भलल नामक बाणोंद्वारा निशानेपर आये हुए बहुत-से घुड़सवारोंका संहार कर डालता था
sañjaya uvāca | bahūn api hayārohān bhallaiḥ saṃnata-parvabhiḥ | rathī jaghāna samprāpya bāṇa-gocaram āgatān ||
قال سنجيا: لما بلغ أولئك الفرسان الكثيرون مدى السهام، أخذ كلُّ مقاتلٍ على العربة يصرعهم بسهام «بهلّا»—وهي نبالٌ ذات عُقَدٍ منثنية—ما إن استقاموا في مرماه. وهكذا، حين اشتدّ القتال واقتربت المسافة حتى غدت قاتلة، حوّلت المهارةُ والعزيمةُ ساحةَ الحرب إلى مذبحةٍ خاطفة.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim efficiency of warfare: once combatants enter one another’s effective range, trained warriors act decisively. Ethically, it reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the human cost of violence.
Sanjaya describes the fighting: chariot-warriors, using bhalla arrows with bent knots, strike down many horsemen as soon as they come within arrow-shot—depicting close-range, lethal exchanges on the battlefield.