Shloka 29
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
प्रत्यविध्यदमेयात्मा किरीटी भरतर्षभ । भरतश्रेष्ठ! तत्पश्चात् अमेय आत्मबलसे सम्पन्न, किरीटधारी पुरुषसिंह अर्जुनने भीष्मको पचीस, कृपाचार्यको नौ, द्रोणको साठ, विकर्णको तीन, शल्यको तीन तथा राजा दुर्योधनको पाँच बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया || २७-२८ हू || त॑ सात्यकिर्विराटश्न धृष्टद्युम्नश्व॒ पार्षत:
sañjaya uvāca | pratyavidhyad ameyātmā kirīṭī bharatarṣabha | bharataśreṣṭha! tatpaścāt ameya ātmabalena sampannaḥ kirīṭadhārī puruṣasiṃhaḥ arjunaḥ bhīṣmaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā kṛpācāryaṃ navabhiḥ droṇaṃ ṣaṣṭyā vikarṇaṃ tribhiḥ śalyaṃ tribhiḥ tathā rājānaṃ duryodhanaṃ pañcabhiḥ bāṇaiḥ ghālayāmāsa ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô taureau parmi les Bharata, Arjuna au diadème—d’âme et de force incommensurables—frappa alors ses ennemis de flèches infaillibles : Bhīṣma de vingt-cinq, Kṛpa de neuf, Droṇa de soixante, Vikarna de trois, Śalya de trois, et le roi Duryodhana de cinq. La scène met en lumière la discipline sombre de la guerre, où prouesse et résolution s’exercent sans hésitation, même contre des maîtres vénérés et des parents.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kshatriya ethic of resolute action in battle: Arjuna, endowed with immense inner strength, performs his martial duty without wavering, even when the opponents include elders and teachers. It reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between reverence for persons and commitment to one’s role-bound obligations (dharma) in a tragic war.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna, wearing his diadem, shoots multiple leading Kaurava warriors—Bhishma, Kripa, Drona, Vikarna, Shalya, and Duryodhana—wounding each with a specified number of arrows. The detail emphasizes Arjuna’s battlefield dominance and the escalating intensity of the Kurukshetra combat.