Shloka 55
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
स तान् सर्वान् शरैघोरैरवाकिरत पाण्डव: । तथैव तावका राजन् पाण्डवेयान् महारथान्
sa tān sarvān śaraiḥ ghorair avākirat pāṇḍavaḥ | tathaiva tāvakā rājan pāṇḍaveyān mahārathān |
Sañjaya said: The Pāṇḍava showered all of them with dreadful arrows. In the same way, O King, your warriors rained arrows upon the great chariot-fighters of the Pāṇḍavas. The verse underscores the reciprocal escalation of violence in battle—each side answering force with force—highlighting the grim symmetry of war where prowess and retaliation drive the conflict onward.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects the harsh symmetry of warfare: aggression is met with counter-aggression, and martial excellence becomes a cycle of retaliation. Ethically, it points to how conflict tends to escalate when both sides respond in kind, even while acting within the expected kṣatriya code of battle.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a Pāṇḍava warrior rains terrible arrows upon the opposing fighters, and that the Kaurava warriors likewise shower arrows upon the Pāṇḍava great chariot-fighters—depicting an intense exchange of missile fire between elite combatants.