Shloka 12
Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam
ते शरा: प्राप्प कौन्तेयं समन्ताद विविशु: प्रभो । फलभारनतं यद्वत् स्वादुवृक्षं विहड़्मा:
te śarāḥ prāpya kaunteyaṃ samantād viviśuḥ prabho | phalabhāranataṃ yadvat svāduvṛkṣaṃ vihaṅgamāḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Oh señor, aquellas flechas, al alcanzar a Kunteya (Arjuna), se le hundieron por todos los lados—como aves que se abalanzan desde todas direcciones sobre un árbol de frutos dulces, inclinado por el peso de su cosecha.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how concentrated aggression can overwhelm even a great warrior, using a natural simile to show that strength and excellence (like a fruit-laden tree) can also attract intense assault. Ethically, it points to the harsh reality of war: merit does not exempt one from suffering, and strategic encirclement magnifies harm.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna is being struck from all directions; the arrows reach him and lodge in his body. The comparison is to birds rushing in from every side to peck at a sweet tree bowed down with fruit.