Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 11
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
धनुश्चिच्छेद भल्लेन सहदेवस्य मारिष | भरतश्रेष्ठ! उसने युद्धस्थलमें युधिष्ठिरको सौ
sañjaya uvāca | dhanuś ciccheda bhallena sahadevasya mārīṣa | bharataśreṣṭha! sa yuddhasthale yudhiṣṭhiraṃ śatena bhīmasenaṃ saptatyā sahadevaṃ pañcabhir nakulaṃ catuḥṣaṣṭyā dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ pañcabhir draupadī-putrān saptabhiḥ saptabhiś ca sātyakiṃ tribhir bāṇair āhatavān | mānyavara! sārdhaṃ caikena bhallena sahadevasya dhanuś ciccheda || tad apāsya dhanuś chinnaṃ mādrī-putraḥ pratāpavān ||
Sañjaya said: “O revered one, with a keen bhalla-arrow he cut Sahadeva’s bow. O best of the Bharatas, on the battlefield he struck Yudhiṣṭhira with a hundred arrows, Bhīmasena with seventy, Sahadeva with five, Nakula with sixty-four, Dhṛṣṭadyumna with five, the sons of Draupadī with seven each, and Sātyaki with three. And, honored sir, with a single bhalla he also severed Sahadeva’s bow. Casting aside the broken bow, the valiant son of Mādrī—Sahadeva—prepared to continue the fight.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid intense violence, the episode highlights kṣatriya-dharma: steadfastness and composure under loss. Sahadeva’s bow is cut, yet he does not collapse; he discards the broken weapon and continues—an ethic of resilience and duty in battle.
Sañjaya reports a surge of martial dominance: a warrior showers key Pāṇḍava leaders and allies with arrows in specified counts, then decisively severs Sahadeva’s bow with a bhalla. Sahadeva, the son of Mādrī, throws away the broken bow to keep fighting.