Shloka 17
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
दुर्योधनस्तु दशभिर्गार्ध्रपत्रै: शिलाशितै: । भीमसेनं महेष्वासं रुक्मपुड्खै: समार्पयत्
duryodhanas tu daśabhir gārdhrapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ | bhīmasenaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ rukmapuṅkhaiḥ samārpayat ||
Sañjaya dit : Duryodhana, cependant, frappa le grand archer Bhīmasena de dix flèches—affûtées à la pierre, empennées de plumes de vautour, leurs hampes comme ornées d’ailes d’or—lui infligeant une blessure sévère. Dans l’atmosphère morale de la guerre, le vers met en relief l’escalade inexorable de la violence et la résolution du guerrier à dominer un adversaire redoutable, tandis que le conflit enfonce les deux camps dans une inimitié toujours plus destructrice.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, once war is embraced, determination and skill are often directed toward harm; it implicitly warns that unchecked enmity escalates suffering, even while depicting the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in combat.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana shoots Bhīma with ten sharp, well-crafted arrows (stone-whetted, vulture-feathered, gold-fletched), wounding the powerful Pāṇḍava warrior in the midst of battle.