Shloka 29
क्रीडन्तमष्टादशभि: पृषत्कै- विंव्याध वीरं नकुलं सरोष: । उस महान् भयके अवसरपर अपने भाई भीमसे सुरक्षित हो महामना नकुलने वहाँ भयंकर पराक्रम प्रकट किया। अकेले ही बहुत-से पैदल मनुष्यों
krīḍantam aṣṭādaśabhiḥ pṛṣatkaiḥ vivyādha vīraṃ nakulaṃ saroṣaḥ | sa mahān bhayake ’vasare ’sya bhrātṛbhīmasena-surakṣitaḥ san mahāmanā nakulo ’tra bhīṣaṇaṃ parākramaṃ pradarśayām āsa | eko ’pi bahūn padātīn aśvān gajān rathāṃś ca saṃharan krīḍann iva vīraḥ nakulaḥ—taṃ roṣa-pūrṇaḥ karṇaputraḥ aṣṭādaśabhir bāṇair vyathayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Karṇa’s son struck the hero Nakula with eighteen arrows, even as Nakula seemed to be playing amid the slaughter. In that moment of great peril, the high-minded Nakula—kept safe by his brother Bhīma—displayed fearsome valor, cutting down masses of foot-soldiers, horses, elephants, and chariots; yet in that great battle Vṛṣasena wounded him grievously.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfast courage under peril, while also showing how anger (roṣa) drives escalation in war; noble valor can coexist with vulnerability, and protection by kin (Bhima safeguarding Nakula) is portrayed as a righteous support in crisis.
Nakula is cutting down many enemy troops—infantry, horses, elephants, and chariots—so effectively that it appears like sport. Seeing this, Karna’s son Vṛṣasena, enraged, shoots Nakula with eighteen arrows, wounding him in the great battle.