Shloka 11
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
ततो<पराभ्यां भल्लाभ्यां धनुषी समकृन्तत । यमयो: सहसा राजन विव्याध च त्रिसप्तभि:,राजन्! फिर सहसा उसने दो भल्लोंसे नकुल और सहदेवके धनुष काट डाले तथा उन दोनोंको भी इकक््कीस बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया
tato 'parābhyāṃ bhallābhyāṃ dhanuṣī samakṛntata | yamayoḥ sahasā rājan vivyādha ca trisaptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, O King, with two sharp bhalla arrows he swiftly cut the bows of the twin brothers, and in that same instant pierced both of them with twenty-one shafts.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic where disabling an opponent’s weapon (cutting the bow) is a decisive tactical act, followed by further strikes—illustrating the harsh, skill-driven reality of kṣatriya warfare and the rapid escalation of violence once combat is joined.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (implied from context) uses two bhalla arrows to sever the bows of the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, and then immediately wounds them both with twenty-one arrows.