Shloka 88
तथैव तानू प्रत्यविध्यत् कुन्तीपुत्रो धनंजय: । द्रोणपुत्रं चतुःषष्ट्या मद्रराजं शतेन च,इसी प्रकार कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुनने भी उन्हें बाणोंसे बींधकर बदला चुकाया। अर्जुनने द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाको चौंसठ, मद्रराज शल्यको सौ, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथको दस, वृषसेनको तीन और कृपाचार्यको बीस बाणोंसे घायल करके सिंहनाद किया
tathaiva tānū pratyavidhyat kuntīputro dhanañjayaḥ | droṇaputraṃ catuḥṣaṣṭyā madrarājaṃ śatena ca |
Sañjaya said: In the same manner, Kuntī’s son Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) repaid them by piercing them with arrows. He struck Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman) with sixty-four shafts and the king of Madra (Śalya) with a hundred—measured retaliation within the warrior code, displaying prowess while staying within the battlefield’s accepted bounds of response.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya conduct in war: response is proportionate and direct—retaliation is framed as a duty-bound act within accepted battlefield norms, emphasizing discipline and measured action rather than uncontrolled vengeance.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna counters his opponents by shooting them with arrows, specifically wounding Aśvatthāman with sixty-four arrows and Śalya with a hundred, demonstrating Arjuna’s dominance in the ongoing battle.