Shloka 22
स च्छाद्यमानो बहुधा पुत्रैस्तव विशाम्पते । सृक्किणी संलिहन् वीर: शार्दूल इव दर्पित:,प्रजानाथ! भरतनन्दन! आपके पुत्रोंद्वारा बारंबार बाणोंकी वर्षासे आच्छादित किये जानेपर क्रोधपूर्वक अपने मुहके कोनोंको चाटते हुए सिंहके समान शौर्यका अभिमान रखनेवाले वीर भीमसेनने एक अत्यन्त तीखे क्षुरप्रके द्वारा आपके पुत्र व्यूढोरस्कको मार गिराया। उसकी जीवन-लीला समाप्त हो गयी
sa cchādyamāno bahudhā putrais tava viśāmpate | sṛkkīṇī saṁlihan vīraḥ śārdūla iva darpitaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: O lord of the people, though repeatedly covered on all sides by volleys of arrows shot by your sons, that heroic warrior—licking the corners of his mouth in wrath, like a proud tiger—stood his ground, his valor undiminished. (In the surrounding narrative of this passage, Bhīmasena, inflamed with anger amid the press of battle, strikes down your son Vyūḍhoraska with a razor-edged arrow, bringing his life to an end.)
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethos under kṣatriya-dharma: even when overwhelmed by enemy missiles, a fighter is expected to maintain resolve and courage. Ethically, it also underscores how anger and pride intensify violence in war, leading swiftly to irreversible outcomes—death and grief—especially for those bound by loyalty to a doomed cause.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a battlefield moment where a hero, though showered with arrows by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, remains fierce like a proud tiger. In the immediate context of this passage, Bhīmasena, enraged, uses a sharp kṣurapra arrow to strike down Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Vyūḍhoraska, ending his life.