Shloka 12
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 47 — Abhimanyu’s rapid exchanges, counsel to disable his chariot-system
कृपाचार्यके चारों घोड़ों तथा उनके दो पार्श्वरक्षकोंको धराशायी करके छातीमें दस बाणोंद्वारा प्रहार किया ।। ततो वृन्दारकं वीरं कुरूणां कीर्तिवर्धनम् । पुत्राणां तव वीराणां पश्यतामवधीद् बली,तदनन्तर बलवान् अभिमन्युने कुरुकुलकी कीर्ति बढ़ानेवाले वीर वृन्दारकको आपके वीर पुत्रोंके देखते-देखते मार डाला
sañjaya uvāca |
tato vṛndārakaṃ vīraṃ kurūṇāṃ kīrtivardhanam |
putrāṇāṃ tava vīrāṇāṃ paśyatām avadhīd balī ||
Sañjaya said: Abhimanyu felled Kṛpācārya’s four horses and his two flank-guards, and then struck him in the chest with ten arrows. Thereafter the mighty Abhimanyu slew the heroic Vrindaraka, an enhancer of Kuru fame, while your valiant sons looked on.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kshatriya-worldview where valor and clan-honor are pursued amid mortal danger; it also exposes the ethical weight of war—glory is gained, but at the cost of lives witnessed by one’s own family, intensifying the tragedy and moral tension.
Sanjaya reports that the powerful Abhimanyu kills the warrior Vrindaraka, described as a fame-enhancer of the Kurus, and does so in full view of Dhritarashtra’s sons, emphasizing both Abhimanyu’s prowess and the Kauravas’ helpless witnessing of the loss.