Shloka 32
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
जयत्सेनस्तु समरे भीम॑ भीमायुध॑ युधि | विव्याध निशितैर्बाणैरष्टभिर्भरतर्षभ,एकैकं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् कड़ुकबर्हिणवाजितै: । उसके बाद सुशर्मा और कृपाचार्यको भी तीन-तीन बाणोंसे बींध डाला। राजेन्द्र! फिर समरांगणमें प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेश भगदत्त, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ, चित्रसेन, विकर्ण, कृतवर्मा, दुर्मीषण तथा महारथी विन्द और अनुविन्द--इनमैंसे प्रत्येकको गीधकी पाँखसे युक्त तीन- तीन बाणोंद्वारा विशेष पीड़ा दी भरतश्रेष्ठ] मगधराज जयत्सेनने- युद्धके मैदानमें भयानक अस्त्र-शस्त्र धारण करनेवाले भीमसेनको आठ पैने बाणोंद्वारा बींध डाला
jayatsenas tu samare bhīmaṁ bhīmāyudhaṁ yudhi | vivyādha niśitair bāṇair aṣṭabhir bharatarṣabha || ekaikaṁ tribhir ānarccchat kaḍukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ | tataḥ suśarmāṇaṁ ca kṛpācāryaṁ ca tribhis tribhir avedhayat || rājendra punaḥ samarāṅgaṇe prāgjyotiṣanareśaṁ bhagadattaṁ sindhurājaṁ jayadrathaṁ citrasenaṁ vikarṇaṁ kṛtavarmāṇaṁ durmiṣaṇaṁ ca mahārathī vindānuvindau ca—eteṣāṁ pratyekaṁ gīdhapakṣayuktaiḥ tribhir tribhir bāṇaiḥ viśeṣapīḍām akarot |
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, King Jayatsena pierced Bhīmasena—terrible in combat and bearing dreadful weapons—with eight razor-sharp arrows, O bull among the Bharatas. Then, striking each opponent in turn with three arrows fitted with vulture-feathers, he also wounded Suśarmā and the preceptor Kṛpācārya with three each. Again on the battlefield, he inflicted marked pain—three arrows apiece—upon Bhagadatta, king of Prāgjyotiṣa; Jayadratha, king of Sindhu; and upon Citrasena, Vikarṇa, Kṛtavarman, Durmiṣaṇa, and the great chariot-warriors Vinda and Anuvinda. The passage underscores the relentless escalation of violence and the warrior-code skill of targeted, measured strikes amid the moral darkness of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of disciplined martial prowess—measured, targeted strikes—while implicitly reminding the listener that even such skill operates within the tragic moral weight of war, where many renowned warriors are reduced to being 'targets' in an escalating cycle of harm.
Sañjaya reports that Jayatsena first pierces Bhīma with eight sharp arrows, then wounds several other prominent warriors—Suśarmā, Kṛpa, Bhagadatta, Jayadratha, and others—giving each three arrows, describing a rapid sequence of battlefield hits.