Shloka 16
शल्यश्न दशभिबणिस्त्रिभिर्द:शासनस्तथा । दुर्योधनस्तु विंशत्या शकुनिश्चापि पठचभि:,फिर शल्यने दस, दुःशासनने तीन, दुर्योधनने बीस और शकुनिने पाँच बाणोंसे उन्हें घायल कर दिया
śalyas tu daśabhir bāṇais tribhir duḥśāsanas tathā | duryodhanas tu viṁśatyā śakuniś cāpi pañcabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Śalya struck him with ten arrows; Duḥśāsana likewise with three. Duryodhana then pierced him with twenty, and Śakuni too with five—each adding to the relentless wounding that marks this phase of the war, where prowess and fury eclipse restraint and compassion.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare rapidly becomes an arithmetic of injury—numbers of arrows replacing moral reflection. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such scenes highlight the tragic momentum of adharma: once hatred and rivalry dominate, even great warriors participate in escalating harm rather than seeking restraint or reconciliation.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment in which Śalya, Duḥśāsana, Duryodhana, and Śakuni successively shoot a warrior (the object is implied by context) with specified counts of arrows—ten, three, twenty, and five—emphasizing coordinated assault and the intensity of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.