Shloka 79
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
ततः क्रुद्धस्त्रिभिर्बाणैर्भीमसेनं हसन्निव । अभिहत्य दृढं युद्धे तान् सर्वान् प्रत्यविध्यत
tataḥ kruddhas tribhir bāṇair bhīmasenaṃ hasann iva | abhihatya dṛḍhaṃ yuddhe tān sarvān pratyavidhyata ||
Sanjaya said: Then, enraged, he struck Bhimasena with three arrows, as though laughing in contempt. Having thus dealt a firm blow in the thick of battle, he in turn pierced all of them in response.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield logic of kṣatriya-dharma: force is met with force, and a warrior answers an assault with a measured counterstrike. It also warns how anger and contempt (“as if laughing”) can intensify violence and harden the moral atmosphere of war.
Sañjaya describes a warrior who, becoming angry, hits Bhīma with three arrows and then retaliates against all the opposing fighters present, piercing them in return during the ongoing combat.