Shloka 33
अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel
दुःशासन: षोडशभिर्विव्याध शिनिपुड्भवम् | शकुनि: पञ्चविंशत्या चित्रसेनश्व॒ पठचभि:,तदनन्तर दुःशासनने सोलह, शकुनिने पचीस और चित्रसेनने पाँच बाणोंद्वारा शिनिप्रवर सात्यकिको बींध डाला
sañjaya uvāca | duḥśāsanaḥ ṣoḍaśabhir vivyādha śinipuṅgavam | śakuniḥ pañcaviṃśatyā citrasenaś ca pañcabhiḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Duhshasana pierced the foremost of the Shinis with sixteen arrows; Shakuni struck him with twenty-five, and Chitrasena with five. The scene underscores the ruthless coordination of the Kaurava side against a single eminent warrior, where prowess is met not only by valor but by concentrated, ethically fraught aggression on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, collective force and tactical concentration can overwhelm individual excellence; ethically, it invites reflection on the tension between kṣatriya duty (fighting within the rules of battle) and the moral discomfort of coordinated, relentless targeting of a single renowned warrior.
During the Drona Parva battle, Satyaki—praised as the foremost of the Śini line—is struck by multiple Kaurava fighters in quick succession: Duhshasana with sixteen arrows, Shakuni with twenty-five, and Chitrasena with five.