Shloka 17
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
दुर्योधनस्तु दशभिर्गार्ध्रपत्रै: शिलाशितै: । भीमसेनं महेष्वासं रुक्मपुड्खै: समार्पयत्,दुर्योधनने शान चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए गृध्र-पंखयुक्त अथवा सुवर्णमय पंखवाले दस बाण मारकर महाथनुर्धर भीमसेनको बड़ी चोट पहुँचायी
duryodhanas tu daśabhir gārdhrapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ | bhīmasenaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ rukmapuṅkhaiḥ samārpayat ||
Sanjaya said: Duryodhana, however, struck the great archer Bhīmasena with ten arrows—stone-whetted and fletched with vulture-feathers, their shafts adorned with golden wings—inflicting a severe wound. In the moral atmosphere of the war, the verse highlights the relentless escalation of violence and the warrior’s resolve to overpower a formidable opponent, even as the conflict drives both sides deeper into destructive enmity.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, once war is embraced, determination and skill are often directed toward harm; it implicitly warns that unchecked enmity escalates suffering, even while depicting the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in combat.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana shoots Bhīma with ten sharp, well-crafted arrows (stone-whetted, vulture-feathered, gold-fletched), wounding the powerful Pāṇḍava warrior in the midst of battle.