Shloka 90
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
अर्जुनो व्यधमच्छिष्टानहितान् निशितै: शरै: । संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! वसुदेवनन्दन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके मुखसे यह सब सुनकर और भीमसेनके द्वारा किये हुए उस अत्यन्त दुष्कर कर्मको अपनी आँखों देखकर महाबाहु अर्जुनने अपने पैने बाणोंद्वारा शेष शत्रुओंको मार भगाया ।।
arjuno vyadhamac chiṣṭān ahitān niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | te vadhyamānāḥ samare saṃśaptakagaṇāḥ prabho, prabho! |
Sañjaya said: “O King! Having heard all this from the mouth of the Vasudeva-born Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and having witnessed with his own eyes that exceedingly difficult feat accomplished by Bhīmasena, the mighty-armed Arjuna, with his razor-sharp arrows, struck down and drove off the remaining hostile warriors. As they were being cut down on the battlefield, the powerful bands of the Saṃśaptakas—crying ‘Lord! Lord!’—lost heart, were seized by fear, and fled in all directions; and many valiant men, becoming guests of Indra (i.e., slain), were at once released from sorrow.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage reinforces the epic’s martial-ethical frame: steadfast action aligned with kṣatriya-duty is sustained by clear counsel and witnessed example. It also highlights the psychological truth of war—when resolve collapses, even vowed fighters scatter—while death in righteous battle is portrayed in the traditional idiom as attaining Indra’s heaven (“guest of Indra”).
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, inspired after hearing Kṛṣṇa and seeing Bhīma’s formidable deed, attacks the remaining enemies with keen arrows. The Saṃśaptaka bands, being slain and panic-stricken, flee in all directions; many are killed on the spot, described as going to Indra’s abode.