Shloka 16
अभिमन्युवधः
Abhimanyu’s Fall and the Battlefield Aftermath
सूर्यभासं च पज्चैतान् हत्वा विव्याध सौबलम् | त॑ सौबलस्त्रिभिविंद्ध्वा दुर्योधनमथाब्रवीत्,तत्पश्चात् शत्रुंजय, चन्द्रकेतु, मेघवेग, सुवर्चा और सूर्यभास--इन पाँच वीरोंको मारकर अभिमन्युने सुबलपुत्र शकुनिको भी घायल कर दिया। तब शकुनिने भी तीन बाणोंसे अभिमन्युको घायल करके दुर्योधनसे इस प्रकार कहा--
sūryabhāsaṃ ca pañcaitān hatvā vivyādha saubalam | taṃ saubalas tribhir viddhvā duryodhanam athābravīt |
Sañjaya said: After slaying those five warriors—Śatruñjaya, Candraketu, Meghavega, Suvarcā, and Sūryabhāsa—Abhimanyu also pierced Saubala (Śakuni). Then Saubala, striking Abhimanyu with three arrows in return, addressed Duryodhana. The episode underscores the relentless reciprocity of violence on the battlefield, where prowess and retaliation eclipse kinship and counsel, and where tactical speech follows immediately upon injury.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of immediate reciprocation: injury invites counter-injury, and tactical counsel follows action. It implicitly warns how war compresses moral space—valor and retaliation dominate, while speech becomes an instrument of strategy rather than reflection.
Abhimanyu kills five named warriors and then wounds Śakuni (Saubala). Śakuni retaliates by striking Abhimanyu with three arrows and then turns to speak to Duryodhana, setting up the next tactical response by the Kaurava side.