Shloka 25
Nārāyaṇāstra-utpātaḥ — Aśvatthāman’s Rallying Roar after Droṇa’s Fall (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६७)
कृतवर्मा तु संक्रुद्धो धर्मपुत्रस्य मारिष | धनुश्विच्छेद भल्लेन तं च विव्याध सप्तभि:,माननीय नरेश! तब अत्यन्त कुपित हुए कृतवर्माने भी एक भल्ल्लसे धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिरका धनुष काट दिया और उन्हें भी सात बाणोंसे बींध डाला
kṛtavarmā tu saṅkruddho dharmaputrasya māriṣa | dhanuś ciccheda bhallena taṃ ca vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Kṛtavarmā, inflamed with anger, struck at Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira—O venerable one. With a sharp bhalla-arrow he cut his bow, and then pierced him with seven arrows. The scene shows how wrath in battle drives warriors to disable an opponent’s means of defense first, even when that opponent is famed for righteousness.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) escalates violence and leads to tactics aimed at disabling an opponent rather than restraining harm; it implicitly contrasts Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharmic reputation with the harsh necessities and moral pressures of battlefield conduct.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā, furious, first cuts Yudhiṣṭhira’s bow with a bhalla-arrow (a disarming strike) and then wounds him with seven arrows, marking a decisive moment of aggression against the Pāṇḍava king.