Shloka 16
अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa
with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma
एवमुक््त्वा महाबाहुर्महद् विस्फार्य कार्मुकम् । भारद्वाजस्ततो भीम॑ षड्विंशत्या समार्पयत्
evam uktvā mahābāhur mahad visphārya kārmukam | bhāradvājas tato bhīmaṃ ṣaḍviṃśatyā samārpayat ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Habiendo hablado así, el hijo de Bhāradvāja (Droṇa), de brazos poderosos, tensó por completo su gran arco y luego hirió a Bhīmasena con veintiséis flechas. La escena subraya la implacable escalada de la batalla, donde la destreza y la determinación se muestran sin pausa, mientras el peso moral de una guerra fratricida se cierne sobre cada acto.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior code (kṣatriya-dharma) in action—decisive, disciplined use of skill—while implicitly reminding the listener that such prowess unfolds within the tragic moral tension of a kin-slaying war.
After making a prior statement, Droṇa draws his great bow and strikes Bhīma with twenty-six arrows; Sañjaya reports this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra as part of the unfolding battle account.