Shloka 32
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
बलेन तेन विक्रम्य वर्तमाने जनक्षये । पृष्ठत: पाण्डवानीकम भ्यध्नन्निशितै: शरै:,भरतश्रेष्ठी] उस समय गान्धारराज शकुनिके पास विशाल प्रास लेकर युद्ध करनेवाले घुड़सवारोंकी दस हजार सेना मौजूद थी। उसीको साथ लेकर वह उस जन-संहारकारी युद्धमें पाण्डव-सेनाके पिछले भागकी ओर गया और वे सब मिलकर पैने बाणोंसे उस सेनापर चोट करने लगे
balena tena vikramya vartamāne janakṣaye | pṛṣṭhataḥ pāṇḍavānīkam abhyadhnan niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Mustering his strength and pressing forward while the slaughter of men was raging, he struck the Pāṇḍava host from the rear with sharp arrows—turning the battle into a ruthless assault on those attacked from behind.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, amid mass slaughter, tactical aggression can override restraint; it implicitly invites reflection on kṣatriya conduct and the moral tension between battlefield success and fair combat.
During the height of the killing, the attackers advance with force and strike the Pandava formation from the rear using sharp arrows, intensifying confusion and casualties in the Pandava ranks.