Shloka 2
संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! तदनन्तर सुदृढ़ पराक्रमी केकयराज बृहत्क्षत्रकों आते देख क्षेमधूर्तिने अनेक बाणोंद्वारा उनकी छातीमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। बृहत्क्षत्रस्तु तं राजा नवत्या नतपर्वणाम् | आजजलमेने त्वरितो राजन् द्रोणानीकबिभित्सया,राजन! तब राजा बृहत्क्षत्रने भी झुकी हुई गाँठवाले नब्बे बाणोंद्वारा तुरंत ही द्रोणाचार्यके सैन्यव्यूहका विघटन करनेकी इच्छासे क्षेमधूर्तिको घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | tad-anantaraṃ sudṛḍha-parākramaḥ kekaya-rājā bṛhatkṣatraṃ samāyāntaṃ dṛṣṭvā kṣemadhūrtiḥ anekaiḥ bāṇaiḥ tasya vakṣasi gāḍhaṃ prahāram akarot || bṛhatkṣatraḥ tu taṃ rājā navatyā nataparvaṇām | ājau jalmene tvarito rājan droṇānīka-bibhitsayā kṣemadhūrtiṃ vyathayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, thereafter, seeing the mighty Kekaya ruler Bṛhatkṣatra advancing, Kṣemadhūrti struck him hard in the chest with many arrows. But Bṛhatkṣatra, swift and resolute in the press of battle, wounded that crafty fighter with ninety arrows whose joints were bent, driven by the desire to break up Droṇa’s battle-array.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethos of steadfast courage and tactical intent: blows are exchanged not merely in anger but with strategic aims (here, the disruption of Droṇa’s formation), showing how duty and battlefield intelligence intertwine in epic warfare.
Kṣemadhūrti first wounds the advancing Kekaya king Bṛhatkṣatra with many arrows. Bṛhatkṣatra immediately retaliates, striking Kṣemadhūrti with ninety arrows, motivated by the aim of breaking up Droṇa’s battle-array.