Shloka 27
Adhyāya 16: Saṃśaptaka-vrata and the Diversion of Arjuna (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६)
शिखण्डिनं द्वादशभिवविंशत्या चोत्तमौजसम् । नकुल॑ पज्चभिर्विद्ध्वा सहदेवं च सप्तभि:,उन्होंने शिखण्डीको बारह, उत्तमौजाको बीस, नकुलको पाँच और सहदेवको सात बाणोंसे घायल करके युधिष्छिरको बारह, द्रौपदीके पाँचों पुत्रोंको तीन-तीन, सात्यकिको पाँच और विराटको दस बाणोंसे बींध डाला
sañjaya uvāca | śikhaṇḍinaṃ dvādaśabhir viṃśatyā cottamaujasaṃ | nakulaṃ pañcabhir viddhvā sahadevaṃ ca saptabhiḥ |
Sañjaya said: Having pierced Śikhaṇḍin with twelve arrows and Uttamaujā with twenty, and having struck Nakula with five and Sahadeva with seven, he continued to wound the Pāṇḍava side’s foremost warriors—Yudhiṣṭhira, Draupadī’s five sons, Sātyaki, and Virāṭa—each with the stated number of shafts. The passage underscores the relentless arithmetic of battle: prowess is displayed through measured, targeted violence, while the moral weight of the war remains implicit in the suffering inflicted on named persons rather than anonymous troops.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not state a doctrinal maxim; its ethical force lies in how war reduces living persons to targets and numbers. By naming each warrior and counting the arrows, the text highlights both martial skill and the sobering, cumulative harm that accompanies kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports a combatant (implied from context) shooting multiple Pāṇḍava-side heroes—Śikhaṇḍin, Uttamaujā, Nakula, and Sahadeva—each with a specified number of arrows, and then continuing similarly against Yudhiṣṭhira, Draupadī’s sons, Sātyaki, and Virāṭa.