Shloka 20
भोजस्तु प्रहसन् पार्थ वासुदेवं॑ च माधवम् । एकैकं पञ्चविंशत्या सायकानां समार्पयत्,तब कृतवर्माने भी हँसकर कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुन और मधुवंशी भगवान् वासुदेवमेंसे प्रत्येकको पचीस-पचीस बाण मारे
sañjaya uvāca |
bhojas tu prahasan pārtha vāsudevaṃ ca mādhavam |
ekaikaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā sāyakānāṃ samārpayat ||
Sañjaya said: Laughing aloud, Bhoja (Kṛtavarmā) shot at Pārtha (Arjuna) and at Vāsudeva Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa), striking each of them with twenty-five arrows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the heat of war, arrogance and derision can accompany violence; it implicitly contrasts such bravado with the steadiness and moral counsel associated with Kṛṣṇa, reminding readers that inner disposition (mockery vs. restraint) is ethically significant even amid kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā (called Bhoja) laughs and shoots a volley, striking Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa each with twenty-five arrows, intensifying the combat around Arjuna’s chariot.