Shloka 87
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
मद्रराज शल्यने कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनको तीस बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया। कृपाचार्यने भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको बीस बाण मारे और अर्जुनपर बारह बाणोंका प्रहार किया ।। चतुर्भि: सिन्धुराजश्न वृषसेनश्न सप्तभि: । पृथक् पृथड्महाराज विव्यधु: कृष्णपाण्डवौ,महाराज! फिर सिन्धुराजने चार और वृषसेनने सात बाणोंद्वारा श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनको पृथक्-पृथक् घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | madrarājaḥ śalyaḥ kuntīkumāram arjunaṃ triṃśadbhir bāṇair āhatavān | kṛpācāryaḥ bhagavantaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ viṃśatibhir bāṇair avidhyat, arjune ca dvādaśa bāṇān prāhiṇot | caturbhiḥ sindhurājaś ca vṛṣasenaś ca saptabhiḥ | pṛthak pṛthag mahārāja vivyadhuḥ kṛṣṇapāṇḍavau ||
Sañjaya said: King Śalya of Madra struck Kuntī’s son Arjuna with thirty arrows. Kṛpācārya then pierced Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa with twenty arrows and also shot Arjuna with twelve. After that, O King, the ruler of Sindhu with four arrows and Vṛṣasena with seven wounded Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) separately. The scene underscores the relentless escalation of battle, where even the charioteer who embodies divine guidance is treated as a combatant, while Arjuna remains the focal point of concentrated hostility.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh momentum of war: even the presence of divine guidance (Kṛṣṇa as charioteer) does not remove the immediate dangers of the battlefield. Ethically, it reflects how kṣatriya-duty is portrayed as steadfast endurance amid escalating aggression, while also hinting at the tragic normalization of violence when dharma is contested through arms.
Sañjaya reports a sequence of attacks: Śalya wounds Arjuna with thirty arrows; Kṛpa shoots Kṛṣṇa with twenty and Arjuna with twelve; then Jayadratha (Sindhurāja) and Vṛṣasena further wound Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna separately with four and seven arrows respectively.