Shloka 12
Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam
ते शरा: प्राप्प कौन्तेयं समन्ताद विविशु: प्रभो । फलभारनतं यद्वत् स्वादुवृक्षं विहड़्मा:
te śarāḥ prāpya kaunteyaṃ samantād viviśuḥ prabho | phalabhāranataṃ yadvat svāduvṛkṣaṃ vihaṅgamāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Those arrows, having reached Kunteya (Arjuna), entered him from all sides, O lord—just as birds swoop in from every direction upon a sweet fruit-bearing tree bent down under the weight of its fruit.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how concentrated aggression can overwhelm even a great warrior, using a natural simile to show that strength and excellence (like a fruit-laden tree) can also attract intense assault. Ethically, it points to the harsh reality of war: merit does not exempt one from suffering, and strategic encirclement magnifies harm.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna is being struck from all directions; the arrows reach him and lodge in his body. The comparison is to birds rushing in from every side to peck at a sweet tree bowed down with fruit.