Shloka 256
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
विकर्णो दशभिर्भल्लै राजन् विव्याध पाण्डवम् | नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर सम्पूर्ण विश्वमें विख्यात महारथी भीष्मने अर्जुनपर सतहत्तर बाण चलाये
sañjaya uvāca |
vikarṇo daśabhir bhallai rājann vivyādha pāṇḍavam |
Sanjaya said: O King, Vikarna pierced the Pandava (Arjuna) with ten bhalla-arrows. Thereafter, in the famed clash of great chariot-warriors, Bhishma loosed seventy-seven arrows, Drona twenty-five, Kripa fifty, Duryodhana sixty-four, Shalya nine, Jayadratha nine, Shakuni five, and Vikarna ten; and with their volleys they struck Arjuna, the son of Pandu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the intensity and moral pressure of battlefield duty: even when many renowned warriors focus their attack on a single opponent, the narrative underscores steadfastness under adversity and the harsh, collective nature of kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Vikarṇa strikes Arjuna with ten bhalla-arrows, and the surrounding narration describes a coordinated volley by multiple Kaurava-side mahārathas—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Duryodhana, Śalya, Jayadratha, and Śakuni—who also shoot and hit Arjuna.