Shloka 24
तथा बृहद्बलं हत्वा सौभद्रो व्यचरद् रणे । व्यष्टम्भयन्महेष्वासो योधांस्तव शराम्बुभि:,इस प्रकार महाधनुर्धर अभिमन्यु बृहदबलका वध करके आपके योद्धाओंको अपने बाणरूपी जलकी वर्षसे स्तब्ध करता हुआ रणक्षेत्रमें विचरने लगा
tathā bṛhadbalaṁ hatvā saubhadro vyacarad raṇe | vyaṣṭambhayan maheṣvāso yodhāṁs tava śarāmbubhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having slain Bṛhadbala, Saubhadra (Abhimanyu), the great archer, moved about the battlefield, checking and stunning your warriors with showers of arrows like torrents of water—an image of youthful valor turned into relentless, disciplined force amid the harsh ethics of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-duty expressed as disciplined martial action: after defeating a key opponent, Abhimanyu does not lapse into pride or pause, but continues to restrain enemy forces effectively. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between necessary violence in war and the ideal of controlled, purposeful force rather than cruelty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu, having slain Bṛhadbala, ranges across the battlefield and overwhelms the Kaurava fighters with dense volleys of arrows, described metaphorically as a drenching rain that immobilizes and checks their advance.