Shloka 32
Duryodhana Seeks Droṇa’s Counsel; Imperative to Protect Jayadratha; Pāñcāla Assault on Duryodhana
उस समय पार्थने रथहीन हुए दुर्योधनकी दोनों हथेलियोंमें दो पैने बाणोंद्वारा गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। प्रयत्नज्ञो हि कौन्तेयो नखमांसान्तरेषुभि: | स वेदनाभिराविग्न: पलायनपरायण:,उपायको जाननेवाले कुन्तीकुमारने अपने बाणोंद्वारा दुर्योधनके नखोंके मांसमें प्रहार किया। तब वह वेदनासे व्याकुल हो युद्धभूमिसे भाग चला
prayatnajño hi kaunteyo nakhamāṁsāntareṣubhiḥ | sa vedanābhir āvignaḥ palāyanaparāyaṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The resourceful son of Kuntī, skilled in discerning the right means, struck Duryodhana with sharp arrows in the tender flesh beneath his nails. Tormented by the pain and shaken in spirit, Duryodhana turned toward flight from the battlefield—showing how, amid the brutal ethics of war, even a mighty warrior’s resolve can collapse when bodily suffering overwhelms courage and duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how strategic knowledge (upāya, effective means) can decisively shift a battle, and how physical pain can erode a warrior’s steadiness, pushing him away from kṣatriya-duty toward flight.
Sañjaya narrates that Kaunteya (Arjuna/Pārtha) wounds Duryodhana in a particularly sensitive area—under the nails—using sharp arrows; overwhelmed by pain, Duryodhana becomes agitated and turns to flee from the battlefield.